Castaic Students’ Proficiency Test Scores a Source of Disagreement : Education: Demands for tougher curriculum, claims of present system’s effectiveness both are made.

Depending on whom you ask, the recently released proficiency scores for the Castaic Union School District either show a continued pattern of mediocre academic performance or are being overblown for political leverage in Tuesday’s school board election.

In March, students in the first through seventh grades took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, which measures performance in math, spelling, language, vocabulary, science, social studies and other topics.

“We constantly are scoring at average and low average (on proficiency tests),” said trustee Gloria Mercado, calling for a tougher curriculum.

The multiple-choice test sets national standards with a bell curve, with 54% of students expected to earn average scores, and high and low scores expected to account for 23% each.

Castaic sixth-graders had fewer scores in the high category in subject areas including mathematics, social studies, science, punctuation and vocabulary. But better scores appeared in the lower grades, with second-graders averaging high marks in listening, punctuation and capitalization.

Mercado, dissatisfied with the results, said they show a continued trend of low scores that dates back to the 1980s, when Castaic used a different exam to measure reading, written expression and math abilities.

Supt. Scott Brown said the Iowa Test results actually demonstrate that the Castaic curriculum is effective, if scores are tracked from year to year. On average, student scores in reading, mathematics and language skills improved from 1991 to 1992 and again from 1992 to 1993.

While the scores are being interpreted differently, there is agreement that Tuesday’s school board election is changing how the test scores are being handled.

Mercado, a four-year incumbent seeking reelection, said other trustees have been reluctant to deal with the issue of poor scores right before the election. Others say Mercado is raising the issue because the election is upcoming.

“Standardized tests don’t indicate everything,” Mercado said. “However, if we’ve consistently shown problems on standardized tests, why don’t we just face it and deal with it? Let’s just not sweep it under the carpet.”

The district previously used the Basic Skills Inventory exam to measure math, reading and written communication skills during the 1980s. The old test was criticized as potentially unreliable and low Castaic scores were said to be misleading.

“That test did not do what we wanted it to do. It was not broad enough,” said Brown. “One of the reasons Iowa was picked is because it was academically challenging. We wanted a realistic test, whether the scores were very flattering or unflattering.”