Students Sabotage School on State Test

A group of seniors at Torrance’s academically rigorous West High School intentionally flunked the latest California Assessment Program test in an attempt to send a message to administrators who they believe place too much emphasis on the exam.

School officials said the action sent West High’s ratings into a nose dive, dropping reading scores from the 85th percentile statewide in 1987-88 to the 51st percentile this year. On the math portion, the dip was also dramatic, falling from the 95th percentile in 1987-88 to the 71st percentile in the current academic year.

The students’ rebellion has once again raised questions about whether schools are under too much pressure to bring in high California Assessment Program scores.

The results are often published in newspapers and used within communities to compare one school to the next. In addition, home buyers often consult the scores in looking for desirable areas with good school districts.

At least one family from out of state “specifically selected our high school because we have high CAP scores,” West High teacher Brenda McNamara said. “That is not unusual.”

Last year, 50 elementary schools statewide were accused of cheating on third- and sixth-grade California Assessment Program tests. Critics said the reason for the cheating was pressure on schools to get high scores.

Several years ago, when the state was offering cash incentives for high California Assessment Program scores, students at one Northern California school intentionally flunked the exam in a dispute over how the money should be spent, according to one state official.

Because the tests were taken anonymously, it is impossible to tell how many of West High’s 400 seniors were involved in the sabotage.

At the school Wednesday, student body President Kelle Price, who said she did not intentionally fail the test, said some seniors became disgruntled when teachers interrupted classes to prepare them for the California Assessment Program tests. She said students also believed that administrators--who visited classes to stress the importance of doing well--were too concerned with maintaining the school’s image.

“They said this is the test that is the school’s report card . . . (and) West is a really good school and that we all want to keep it up. I think a lot of people resented that.”

According to West High Principal William Bawden, the intentional flunking of the December exam became apparent last week when West High received its scores from the state Department of Education.

“We thought that it was the wrong high school . . . and then we got some rumors that maybe some of the seniors had sabotaged the test,” Bawden said.

He said at least one student admitted intentionally doing poorly on the exam. The principal said a quick examination of the students’ test booklets, which the school received Wednesday, showed an unusual number of wrong answers in 18 cases, including some booklets that had no correct answers.

Consistent Scores

Susie Lange, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said the “statistical blip” that resulted from the intentional failures will probably knock West High out of the running for the state’s distinguished school program. She said the program, although not based solely on California Assessment Program scores, uses consistent scores to measure a school’s eligibility.

She also said this year’s low scores will hurt underclassmen at West High by preventing an accurate comparison in future years with this year’s senior class.

Another state official said a relatively small number of very low scores can skew the school average sharply.

Bawden said administrators believed it was necessary to encourage students to do their best because the California Assessment Program test, which is used only to gauge a school’s performance and not that of individual students, does not provide an incentive to excel.

At West High, there was much debate Wednesday about who--if anyone--places too much emphasis on the tests. Bawden blamed the state Department of Education and the press, which he said does not publish other indicators of a school’s performance.

Starts at Top

Bill Franchini, who heads the Torrance Teachers Assn., which represents teachers in the Torrance Unified School District, blamed it on a trickle-down effect, saying the pressure starts with the state Department of Education and works its way down through local school districts, principals, teachers and eventually students.

“I think that they (students) are feeling like pawns in a game that is much bigger than they are,” he said.