Oxnard Test Score Drop Called ‘Flag’ for Serious Problems

A drop in scores on a test of basic skills given to Oxnard schoolchildren may be a sign of problems with teaching or curriculum, the district’s board president said Wednesday.

“It’s a flag that says we may have serious problems we need to examine,” said Mary Barreto, board president of the Oxnard School District. “I am very concerned.”

At Wednesday night’s board meeting, Barreto and board member Jack Fowler asked administrators to report back to the board why reading and math scores on the California Test of Basic Skills declined and what the district should do to improve them.

In reading, scores at the district’s 14 schools dropped an average of five percentage points compared to last year, placing the district near the 30th percentile nationwide.

In math, results dropped about 1% from last year, placing the district near the 40th percentile nationally. That means 60% of other students who took the test nationwide scored higher.

Students for whom Spanish is the primary language took the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, showing modest improvement over last year’s scores, officials said.

Both tests are administered by many school districts around the state and are used to measure basic skills of elementary and intermediate students and compare them to students nationwide. A different test is given at each grade level.

The state requires school districts to administer basic skills tests, but districts can choose other tests such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

Officials in Oxnard said they score and analyze the tests themselves, said district administrator Kathy Cooper, who analyzed the scores.

Cooper said an increase this year in the number of students with limited skills in English could account for some of the decrease in scores.

Barreto said the district should make improving scores on the test a high priority. “Because the drops were also in math, I think it shows the problem is more than just a language thing. It could be teaching problems, or it could be the curriculum. We need to find out the answers.”

The most dramatic declines were at the Kamala School, where fourth-grade reading levels dropped from the 38th percentile to the 8th percentile nationally.

“We are obviously very concerned,” said Kamala Principal Carolyn Banks. “I’ve spoken with my staff and with the school district to try and account for why the scores dropped like they did.”

Banks said she thought the addition of a number of new students who had never taken the test could account for some of the school’s decline. “These are kids who have been to six or seven schools. That does not make for the best learning situation.”

Banks also said she did not think the tests were an accurate indicator of how students were doing at the school.

“This is just a slice of time. It’s a very artificial measurement. In the classroom there is a much more holistic approach to learning. It’s not just filling in a bubble.”

Other school officials agreed. The principal at the Christa McAuliffe School, which scored among the highest in the district, said he was pleased with his school’s results, but that they represented only a partial picture of student achievement.

“These scores tell us something, but what goes on in the classroom is much more important,” said Principal Paul Kirk.