Schools Beat State Average on CAP Test by 20 Points

Ventura County schools scored 20 points above the state average in the California Assessment Program writing test given to eighth-grade students last spring, state education officials said.

The average score in the county was 275, and scores among the state’s 58 counties averaged 255, said Tom Fong, a CAP research analyst with the state Department of Education.

Overall, Ventura tied for 20th place among the state’s 58 counties, Fong said. Average scores in other Southern California counties were 230 in Los Angeles County, 288 in Orange County and 272 in San Diego County, he said.

The annual test, administered to 308,000 eighth-graders, covers eight types of writing. All essays must be completed in 45 minutes, and each is scored to measure thinking and writing skills as well as mechanics of writing such as spelling and grammar.

The one-school Mesa Union Elementary School District in Somis scored 328 points, the highest in the county. Supt. Dennis J. Convery said the district has ranked in the 90th percentile or higher in the CAP writing test for the past three years.

“We emphasize writing skills at all grade levels, starting in kindergarten,” said Convery, who attributed the high score to “developing those skills early, helping students feel comfortable and at ease with writing, and good instruction all the way through by the teaching staff.”

Four Ventura County school districts scored below the state average. They were Fillmore Unified School District, Oxnard Elementary School District, Rio Elementary School District in Oxnard and Santa Paula Elementary School District.

Factors including the economic background of a district and the number of limited English-speaking students, as well as how scores compare with those from similar schools, are elements in evaluating the results, educators say.

For example, CAP writing scores for the Fillmore district have risen in the past three years from the 1st to the 52nd percentile for districts with comparable ethnic and economic backgrounds, said Chuck Weis, assistant superintendent for educational services. About 17% of the district’s students are limited English speakers, he said.

Overall, the district has risen from the 1st to the 27th percentile, Weis said.

Fillmore’s writing scores have risen steadily because of teacher workshops to improve techniques for teaching writing skills, Weis said.

Despite a similar emphasis on writing in the Oxnard Elementary School District, however, scores there dropped by 10 points this year, from 220 to 210, the lowest in the county, said Barbara Brown, manager of testing and pupil data.

“We’re a little bit baffled because we felt we were spending a little more time with writing than we had in previous years,” Brown said. She said the district was trying to find out why the scores have fallen and would probably make changes in its teaching methods in hopes of improving them.

The writing exam is having an effect on the English curricula in junior high and middle schools statewide, a survey by two college professors showed.

More than 90% of the survey respondents said they have already changed the way they teach writing because of the test, and 78% said they now make more writing assignments.

Four types of writing--autobiographical incident, evaluation, problem solution and report of information--were introduced when the writing-assessment program was launched in 1987. Firsthand biography and story were added in 1988, followed last year by observational writing and speculation about causes or effects.

A writing exam for 12th-graders was begun in fall, 1988, and will be fully implemented with eight tests in November. State officials are considering whether to add writing tests for sixth-graders and possibly even for third-graders.

* CAP SCORES: Ventura County district by district. B4

HOW TO READ THE SCORES

Here are the school-by-school results of the California Assessment Program’s writing exam that was administered to eighth-graders throughout the state last spring.

The exam consists of eight tests of writing ability and represents the state’s biggest step to date away from the much-criticized multiple-choice method of testing academic achievement.

Results are listed by school district and by individual school so that parents can compare the performance of youngsters in their community with that of students in the rest of Los Angeles County and throughout California. (Schools are listed alphabetically by district.)

Because the exam was changed substantially last year with the addition of two more writing tests, only the latest round of scores is listed.

The scaled score is a combination of results on each of the eight separate writing tests. The statewide average score was 255 for eighth-graders, and the average in Los Angeles County was 230.

Relative rank is a way to compare a district or school with another that is similar to it in terms of student ethnic and socioeconomic makeup and students’ ability to speak English fluently, as well as how often those students move from school to school.

State rank shows the school or district’s rank (on a scale of 1 to 99), comparing its scores to scores of every other school or district in the state.

Briggs Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 274 69 97 BRIGGS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 274 66 97 Conejo Valley Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 305 89 46 COLINA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 318 91 60 LOS CERRITOS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 301 85 41 REDWOOD Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 307 87 47 SEQUOIA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 297 83 37 Fillmore Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 229 27 52 FILLMORE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 229 28 52 Hueneme Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 280 74 94 BLACKSTOCK Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 271 64 88 GREEN Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 289 77 97 Mesa Union Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 328 94 92 MESA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 328 93 92 Moorpark Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 276 70 55 CHAPARRAL Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 276 68 55 Oak Park Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 323 93 66 MEDEA CREEK Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 323 92 66 Ocean View Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 266 61 85 OCEAN VIEW Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 266 61 85 Ojai Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 311 90 71 MATILIJA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 311 89 71 Oxnard Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 210 18 38 FREMONT Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 189 9 18 HAYDOCK Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 233 32 56 Pleasant Valley Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 30 90 62 LAS COLINAS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 309 88 71 LOS ALTOS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 290 78 44 LOS PRIMEROS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 364 98 92 MONTE VISTA INTERMEDIATE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 321 92 69 Rio Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 222 21 25 RIO DEL VALLE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 222 23 25 Santa Paula Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 231 29 51 ISBELL Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 231 29 51 Simi Valley Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 280 74 43 HILLSIDE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank R 88-89 289 77 54 SEQUOIA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 265 60 22 SINALOA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 279 70 48 VALLEY VIEW Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 292 80 52 Somis Union Elementary DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 324 93 97 SOMIS Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 324 92 97 Ventura Unified DISTRICT AVERAGE Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 281 74 67 ANACAPA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 309 88 85 BALBOA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 287 76 71 CABRILLO Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 262 57 8 DE ANZA Scaled State Relative Year Score Rank Rank 88-89 258 54 81