CALIFORNIA LEARNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM SCORES : About the Tests

The Times today is publishing key scores from the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) tests, which were designed to measure students’ knowledge and abilities against objective standards. To do that, CLAS establishes six performance levels in each of the three subject areas covered by the test--reading, writing and math--and every student scores at one of those levels.

For example, students who performed at Level 1 in reading understood only single words or phrases in the assigned reading passage and were unable to take away a “coherent meaning” from what they read.

Students at the highest level, Level 6, were able to “demonstrate insight” as they wrote about the passage and showed an ability to “explore complexities in depth” and “expand on the possible meanings of a text.”

In math, students who scored at Level 1 made major mathematical errors or provided little or no explanation of how they solved problems. Exams scored at Level 6 provided clear and logical explanations of solutions and made effective use of mathematical language, diagrams and graphs.

On the writing exams, Level 1 essays were brief and disorganized and included major errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. Essays graded at Level 6 presented a complex range of ideas, supported with logical reasons and detailed answers, and were written in a distinctive style.

Exams scored at the other four levels rated between those two extremes. Students who scored at Level 3 or below, in effect, failed to demonstrate the understanding that would merit a passing grade on a conventional test.

The tests were scored by specially trained evaluators, whose work was periodically reviewed by teachers who had trained them.

The scores given to individual schools reflect the percentage of students performing at each level, in each subject. Theoretically, the best result would be for 100% of the students to achieve at Level 6. The worst would be if 100% of the students were at Level 1.

This year, the state has also released a composite score--the combined percentage of students scoring at Levels 4, 5 or 6 at each school--to make it easier to compare schools to one another.

The tests were given to students in the 4th, 8th and 10th grades.

HOW TO READ THE SCORES

* Find your school district under the appropriate grade. The districts are listed alphabetically. Find your school under the district name.

* The Times today is reporting scores for individual schools using the composite figure provided by the state--denoting the percentage of test-takers who achieved a passing score. So, each figure listed indicates the percentage of students at that school who scored 4, 5 or 6 in a given skills area, reading (R) , writing (W) or math (M) . An asterisk indicates that a school had too few students take the test to produce a reliable aggregate score. Scores appear on this page and on Pages B4-5 .

Scores for schools in the San Fernando Valley, Orange County and Ventura County can be found in the appropriate editions of The Times.

* Main story, A1.

Additional Information on the Scores

California Learning Assessment System scores for individual schools, districts or the entire state may be obtained in several ways:

* On the ‘Net: Use an Internet service to contact the California Department of Education “gopher” server at “goldmine.cde.ca.gov”.

* Using a modem and a computer: Download files from the department’s computer at (916) 657-4881 or (916) 657-5371. CLAS files can be found from the main menu with the following commands: type F, for file menu; type L, for list of available files and type 7 to select the CLAS file area.

* Locally: Scores are available from your local school district or from your county office of education.

Grade 10

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Statewide 35 39 14 -- -- -- Los Angeles County 32 34 11 -- -- --

Antelope Valley Union High

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide * * * -- -- -- Antelope Valley High * * * 31 37 12 Palmdale High * * * 31 31 12 Quartz Hill High * * * 44 49 21 Highland High * * * 34 40 13 Littlerock High * * * 37 42 16

Burbank Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 54 54 16 -- -- -- Burbank High 64 59 19 37 42 15 Burroughs High 43 49 13 36 41 14 Monterey High (Cont.) 9 0 0 14 17 3

Glendale Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 47 53 17 -- -- -- Crescenta Valley Senior High 53 57 22 47 52 24 Daily High Continuation 3 3 3 30 34 10 Glendale Senior High 40 45 14 33 37 12 Hoover Senior High 54 62 17 33 37 12

La Canada Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 70 65 45 -- -- -- La Canada (Cont.) * * * 29 32 12 La Canada High 71 66 45 54 58 31

Las Virgenes Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 40 42 24 -- -- -- Agoura High 31 * * 51 56 28 Indian Hills Continuation 8 0 0 53 55 30 Calabasas High 51 44 26 54 57 31

Los Angeles Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 25 26 6 -- -- -- Aggeler High 5 0 4 23 28 8 Mt. Lukens Continuation 21 7 0 21 26 8 Aliso High, Continuation 36 27 0 30 33 12 Birmingham Senior High 40 33 10 31 36 11 Earhart Continuation 0 0 0 25 29 8 Einstein Continuation * * 0 17 19 5 Leonis Continuation 44 7 0 40 43 18 Lewis Continuation 11 8 0 15 17 4 London Continuation 8 * 0 34 38 14 Canoga Park Senior High 29 25 9 33 37 11 Mission Continuation 0 * 0 18 21 5 Owensmouth Continuation * * 0 30 35 12 Stoney Point Continuation 0 * 17 35 37 14 West Granada Continuation 20 19 0 19 22 5 Grey Continuation 12 7 0 36 41 18 Independence Continuation 6 11 20 20 23 6 Chatsworth Senior High 28 29 9 37 41 15 Valley Alternative 42 53 3 32 38 13 Cleveland Senior High * * * 33 38 12 Thoreau Continuation 0 0 0 43 46 20 Addams Continuation 13 0 0 21 25 7 Evergreen Continuation 0 * 0 22 23 6 El Camino Real Senior High 43 38 18 41 46 18 Francis Polytechnic Senior High 17 21 2 28 31 8 Sherman Oaks CES 49 37 15 43 46 19 Granada Hills Senior High 39 38 18 37 42 16 Grant Senior High 33 32 6 28 32 9 Monroe Senior High 25 20 8 28 32 9 North Hollywood Senior High 33 29 11 29 32 9 Reseda Senior High 30 31 8 31 35 10 San Fernando Senior High 19 25 3 28 31 8 Sylmar Senior High 15 17 2 27 32 8 Taft Senior High 29 24 11 39 44 17 Van Nuys Senior High * * * 29 33 10 Verdugo Hills Senior High 20 16 4 34 38 11 Kennedy Senior High 24 31 8 30 35 10

William S. Hart Union High School

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 29 40 17 -- -- -- Canyon High 19 23 10 38 43 17 Saugus High 28 37 19 41 46 20 Hart High 41 59 23 43 49 21 Bowman High Continuation 5 0 0 40 44 19