HIGH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Seniors in 12 of 15 O.C. Schools Write Above State Average

Seniors in 12 out of 15 Orange County high school districts demonstrated above-average writing skills last year in a new state test to determine writing proficiency, state education officials announced Monday.

Statewide, 79% of last year’s senior class showed adequate to above-average writing skills, while 19% showed minimal ability, according to test results.

In Orange County, all but three of the 15 high school districts scored above the state average. Santa Ana Unified, Anaheim Union High and Garden Grove Unified school districts--all with large concentrations of limited-English-speaking students--scored below the statewide average.

The highest-scoring district in the state was San Marino Unified in Los Angeles County. In Los Angeles Unified School District, last year’s seniors scored well below the state average.

The state average score on the California Assessment Program test was 250. The highest possible score was 400. Orange County high school seniors scored an average of 281 on the test. The highest-scoring district was Laguna Beach Unified, with 319.

Last year was the first time that the state gave high school seniors the writing test, called the Direct Writing Assessment. Unlike earlier measures of writing ability, which emphasized multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank exercises, the new exam requires students to actually write sentences and paragraphs. The test covered four types of essays, including autobiographical, evaluative, interpretive and reflective writing.