IRVINE : School Board Will Discuss Test Scores

The Irvine Unified School District board tonight will discuss the results of new statewide proficiency examinations that tested students’ reading, writing and math abilities.

Irvine’s test scores were among the best in the county, but district officials vowed to examine the results closely and look for ways to improve them next year.

“This is not a time to brag or feel defeated,” said Dean Waldfogel, deputy superintendent of the district. “We are less concerned about how we compare. We want to help more students produce work at a high level.”

Waldfogel enthusiastically endorsed the new California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) tests, saying they do a better job of evaluating students’ skills than the old tests.

The CLAS exams go beyond testing basic skills by asking students to use a variety of different skills to solve real-life problems, Waldfogel said.

“It’s a major shift in emphasis, and one we wanted to make,” he said. “We think they are testing the right things.”

Irvine students did better in the writing portion of the test than they did in the math section.

Waldfogel attributed this in part to the district’s recent emphasis on the importance of writing skills.

CLAS tested students in the fourth, eighth and 10th grades.

District officials plan to go over the test results and examine sample “correct” answers provided by the state.

The district also hopes to develop new teaching methods aimed at helping more students gain the skills necessary to do well on the tests.

“That will be more complex than just asking students to change textbooks,” Waldfogel said. “We are asking them to be thoughtful.”