County’s CAP Score Tops State’s : Education: Seniors’ average on writing-skills test ranks them second among students in the largest counties.

Reflecting greater emphasis on writing skills, Orange County high school seniors achieved scores nearly 40 points higher than the state average on the 1990 California Assessment Program writing test, ranking second among the state’s largest counties, according to statistics released by the state Department of Education.

The 18,570 Orange County seniors who took the test last December scored an average of 294 on the test, 38 points higher than the state average of 256. Among the state’s largest counties, Orange County’s average was surpassed only by Marin County’s average score of 316. However, just 1,564 students took the test there. In 1989, Orange County ranked third behind Marin and Contra Costa counties.

Students countywide surpassed their counterparts from the class of 1989, who were the first 12th-graders to take the writing test. The countywide average was up 13 points over last year, surpassed only by seniors in San Diego County, where scores went up 14 points.

District officials attributed the increases to the widespread adoption of new English and language arts curricula closer to guidelines recommended by the state.

“It’s all in response to the state framework,” said Alan Trudell, a spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District, which reached the state average of 256 this year with an 18-point rise over 1989, the second-largest increase among the state’s 25 largest senior classes. “There’s been a districtwide emphasis on writing for all grade levels.”

Four schools in the Garden Grove district saw scores rise 25 points or more over last year, including a 45-point increase at Santiago High. Trudell said the rises are attributable to a greater emphasis in writing in all courses.

“Writing is now stressed in all subject areas,” he said. “In social studies classes, students may be assigned to keep a written journal. In science classes, students are writing issue papers and essays based on critical analysis. At Rancho Alamitos High School (where scores went up 25 points), even athletic teams are writing essays.”

In the Saddleback Valley Unified District, which had a 26-point rise in scores over last year--the highest among the state’s 25 largest districts--officials also attributed the better scores to greater conformity to the state curriculum. All of the schools there reported average scores above 300 on the test, which has a maximum grade of 400.

Laguna Hills High School was first in the county, with a 362 average, and Mission Viejo High School soared 47 points this year, to 343.

Saddleback Valley Supt. Peter A. Hartman said it resulted from motivated students, “positive morale” among teachers, closer adherence to the state framework and strengthening programs for those with limited English.

All but one district--Santa Ana Unified--reported increases in average scores from 1989. Santa Ana Unified, which had an average score of 226, was down one point from last year. And the Anaheim Union High School District, with an average score of 248, reported scores lower than the statewide average.

But in Santa Ana Unified, where CAP scores tend to be low because of its high percentage of students with limited English proficiency, Mountain View Continuation High School reported a 41-point increase over 1989 scores. And Saddleback High School, where about 19% of the students are limited in English, posted a 15-point gain over last year, to a district-high 252.

In Anaheim Union, a 56-point rise in average scores at Cypress High School and gains of better than 20 points at Magnolia and Katella high schools helped push the districtwide average up 14 points over last year.

David Steinle, assistant superintendent in charge of the educational services division in the district, said the results are promising because scores went up even though seniors did not have a full year of the new English and language arts curriculum.

In the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Buena Park High reported a 28-point drop in scores, while La Habra High School average was up 33 points, even though courses tend to be uniform in the district. District spokeswoman Gayle Wayne attributed the disparity to “higher than anticipated” scores at Buena Park High in 1989 and a “generally high-performing class” at La Habra High this year.

Districtwide averages may also have been skewed because results from small continuation and alternative schools were factored in. Continuation schools are geared to students who drop out or were forced out of school and later return, or who feel that, for varying reasons, they cannot continue at their assigned district high school.

In the Fullerton Joint Union District, for example, La Vista Continuation High School saw scores rise from 205 last year to 316 this year. Meanwhile, the Irvine Unified District’s 21-point overall gain over last year may have been tempered by a 74-point drop at SELF Alternative school.

Tom Fong, a research analyst for the state Department of Education, said that such increases ordinarily do not significantly alter districtwide scores because so few students take the test at alternative schools. But Fong noted that “wide variations” in averages could occur in districts with large continuation schools.

The state Department of Education urged caution in interpreting CAP scores if fewer than than 93% of all eligible students were tested, “as the students tested may not be a true or full representation of the school’s population.”

Los Angeles County high school seniors made some strides over 1989, but the average gains were smaller than those statewide. Seniors in schools throughout Los Angeles County averaged 233, up three points from those who took the test the previous year, while those in Los Angeles Unified averaged 206, two points better than the 204 earned by 12th-graders the year before.

HOW TO READ THE SCORES These are the Orange County school-by-school results of the California Assessment Program’s writing exam administered last winter to high school seniors throughout the state. During one class period, students were required to write an essay from one of six general categories: autobiographical incident, evaluation, interpretation, reflective essay, controversial issue and observational writing. Each essay was graded for thinking and writing skills as well as for basic mechanics, such as spelling and grammar.

The CAP program is designed to measure the progress of schools--not youngsters individually. The grades are combined into a single scaled score, ranging from 1 to more than 400.

The statewide average was 250 for the Class of 1989 and 256 for the Class of 1990. The average score for Orange County was 281 in 1989 and 294 in 1990.

Results are listed by school district and by individual high school

so that parents can contrast the performance of youngsters in their community with that of students in the rest of the county. (Schools are listed alphabetically by district.)

* State Rank shows how the school or district did in relation to all others in the state. The range is from 1 to 99, with 99 being best.

* Relative Rank provides a way to contrast a district or school with others whose students are similar in terms of ethnic makeup and socioeconomic level and in their ability to speak English fluently, as well as how often those students move from school to school.

For example, seniors at Canyon High School in Orange, with a score of 288, did better than 77% of others in California. But they did better than only 25% of other students with similar backgrounds. Laguna Hills High School students, on the other hand, did almost as well when contrasted with similar students as when contrasted with students statewide. With their score of 362, Laguna Hills students earned a statewide ranking of 98 and a relative ranking of 97.

ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA ASSESSMENT PROGRAM TEST SCORES

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Anaheim Union 234 34 31 248 44 38 Anaheim 201 16 53 195 10 28 Cypress 235 38 7 291 78 63 Gilbert * 236 39 58 237 34 49 Katella 235 38 22 261 54 42 Kennedy 238 41 14 253 48 26 Loara 256 55 36 252 47 30 Magnolia 225 31 29 247 42 48 Savanna 246 47 41 246 41 23 Western 240 43 39 241 37 33

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Brea-Olinda Unified 285 77 40 329 96 93 Brea Canyon * 215 24 76 213 20 32 Brea-Olinda 287 78 38 334 95 94

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Capistrano Unified 312 94 71 308 90 51 Capistrano Valley 312 91 67 317 90 61 Dana Hills 324 95 82 310 87 53 San Clemente 294 84 56 294 81 32

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Fullerton Joint Union 291 82 83 303 87 84 Buena Park 279 75 94 251 46 71 Fullerton 279 75 89 278 69 67 La Habra 252 51 40 285 75 91 La Vista * 205 18 45 316 89 99 Sonora 315 93 95 322 91 94 Sunny Hills 328 96 85 342 96 87 Troy 291 82 55 323 92 66

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Garden Grove Unified 238 40 53 256 50 74 Bolsa Grande 210 21 39 207 17 27 Garden Grove 256 55 69 284 74 88 La Quinta 252 51 58 284 74 88 Lake * 163 3 19 -- -- -- Los Amigos 258 57 69 258 51 85 Pacifica 273 70 63 264 56 20 Rancho Alamitos 236 39 32 261 54 79 Santiago 179 6 23 224 26 74

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Huntington Beach Union 301 90 85 309 92 79 Edison 298 86 53 323 92 80 Evening 151 3 1 --- --- --- Fountain Valley 315 93 78 329 94 75 Huntington Beach 304 89 89 303 84 66 Marina 314 92 79 312 88 71 Ocean View 299 87 97 306 86 89 Westminster 273 70 90 267 59 89 Wintersburg * -- -- -- 246 41 7

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Irvine Unified 317 96 77 338 97 85 Irvine 298 86 53 349 97 92 S.E.L.F. Alternative 277 73 37 203 14 8 University 334 96 88 341 96 85 Woodbridge 318 94 78 328 93 73

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Laguna Beach Unified 319 97 79 344 98 88 Laguna Beach 319 94 79 344 97 88

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Los Alamitos Unified 298 88 55 318 94 64 Laurel * 271 68 74 247 42 44 Los Alamitos 299 87 54 322 91 65

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Newport-Mesa Unified 291 82 61 284 76 42 Corona Del Mar 300 87 56 306 86 46 Costa Mesa 248 49 23 238 35 16 Estancia 313 92 88 279 71 60 Newport Harbor 294 84 47 298 82 36

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Orange Unified 288 80 57 297 83 59 Canyon 312 91 67 288 77 25 El Modena 292 83 61 278 69 26 Orange 252 51 49 296 81 91 Richland * 100 1 2 -- -- -- Villa Park 292 83 43 323 92 66

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Placentia Unified 288 80 70 321 95 79 El Camino Real * 225 31 29 221 24 9 El Dorado 267 64 11 313 89 57 Esperanza 308 90 83 328 93 73 Valencia 285 77 82 324 92 93

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Saddleback Valley Unified 316 95 78 342 98 92 El Toro 314 92 72 327 93 71 Laguna Hills 333 96 87 362 98 97 Mission Viejo 296 85 50 343 97 88 Silverado * 275 72 91 262 54 28 Trabuco Hills 340 97 94 353 98 99

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Santa Ana Unified 227 26 83 226 27 78 Mountain View * 184 7 49 225 26 75 Saddleback 237 40 85 252 47 94 Santa Ana 224 30 84 209 17 53 Valley 222 29 82 211 18 56

1988-89 1989-90 School Score Rank Rel. Score Rank Rel. Tustin Unified 296 87 60 306 90 69 Foothill 313 92 69 331 95 78 Hillview * 191 10 9 246 41 7 Tustin 288 80 53 288 77 62

* Continuation schools

Times staff writer Jean Merl in Los Angeles contributed to this story.