Educators Question Results of Stanford 9 Test

Jane Kampbell has a simple question for the state: How can you develop an accurate picture of student proficiency when you test many of them in a language they don’t fully understand?

That question weighed heavily on the Fillmore Unified School District’s assistant superintendent and other county educators Friday after the release of results from a historic statewide exam of student proficiency.

“I kind of feel like we’ve been set up,” Kampbell said. “It’s like someone giving me a test in French even though I’ve been taught in English. . . . If that happens, I’m not going to do very well.”

About 45% of the district’s elementary school students and 25% of the high school students are not proficient in English.

For the first time in state history, students from kindergarten to eighth grade can be compared to others nationwide through the Stanford 9 tests in their mastery of mathematics, language, reading and spelling. High school students can be compared in their proficiency in mathematics, reading, language, science and history.

However, those results are being eyed skeptically by area educators because they factor in scores from students who either don’t speak or have limited ability in English. The test was administered in English.

For example, Oxnard Elementary School District placed near the bottom of all county districts in math proficiency, with all students in the fifth grade scoring in the 26th percentile.

But when the scores of students who lack English fluency are factored out, those numbers change dramatically. They rose to the 34th percentile.

In addition, sixth-grade students in the Ocean View Elementary School District scored in the 38th percentile in reading. But when based solely on students whose native language is English that score soars more than 20 percentage points to the 59th percentile.

“I think what’s obvious from these scores is that the test does not give anyone an accurate analysis of a student’s or school’s progress,” said Francisco Dominguez, a trustee for the Oxnard Elementary School District and executive director of the advocacy group El Concilio del Condado de Ventura. “What can you gather from this kind of data?”

Sergio Robles, director of educational services for the Santa Paula Union High School District, said he was unhappy with the decision to make students take the test in English regardless of whether they were fluent in the language.

“One wonders what sense it makes to test someone in a language they don’t understand,” he said. “That’s the common thinking and I agree with it.”

When the test was given, 19.8% of the students at Santa Paula High were categorized as Limited English Proficient, or LEP. In addition, 8% of the students were enrolled in the special education program.

He said rolling their scores in with the English speaking students’ scores not only paints a wholly inaccurate picture of school’s educational success, but is also a disservice to all students and the district.

“You can’t look at it in isolation,” he said. “You have to look at their grades and the work they have done.”

Jeff Davies assistant superintendent of educational services for the Santa Paula Elementary School District, said he hopes people will look at the breakdown of fluency among students when they review the scores.

About a third of the district’s students are not proficient in English.

“I don’t care how smart you are, you’re not going to score well if it’s not in your primary language,” he said. “When you interpret the results, you have to take that into account.”

Some educators and community leaders worry that low scores by non- or limited-English speaking students might be used as an argument to support anti-immigration platforms.

“It gives them ammunition, but it’s just like a blank,” Dominguez said. “There’s a sound, but no bullet.”

He said it is important to interpret the results in a context that accounts for the fact that students who have limited abilities in English were forced to take a test they wouldn’t fully understand.

“If you look at the totals and not the details, then you’re not going to get an accurate picture of what’s going on,” he said. “It’s important that people know that when they take a look at these scores.”

Many schools districts like Fillmore’s and Santa Paula’s use standardized proficiency tests like La Prueba and Aprenda, written in Spanish, to give administrators a better idea of how students and educators are performing.

“We’ve known from the beginning that the only way we’re going to find out where our strengths and weaknesses are is to use tests the students can understand,” Kampbell said. “The information from those tests is what we use to tailor our curriculum.”

* MAIN STORY: A1

* LOCAL RESULTS: B8

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Test Scores by Grade for Ventura County School Districts

LANGUAGE

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Briggs Elementary 36 34 35 29 47 50 55 - - Conejo Valley Unified 72 68 69 70 74 76 73 68 63 Fillmore Unified 24 24 29 31 39 31 29 29 22 Hueneme Elementary 32 28 36 42 44 47 44 - - Mesa Union Elementary 61 59 52 63 60 65 71 - - Moorpark Unified 55 51 57 59 61 65 63 60 41 Mupu Elementary 50 50 42 55 57 50 49 - - Oak Park Unified 76 75 77 82 76 85 80 77 68 Ocean View Elementary 33 46 37 39 40 35 38 - - Ojai Unified 51 51 59 63 67 65 69 53 50 Oxnard Elementary 27 23 30 28 37 37 40 - - Oxnard Union High - - - - - - - 42 31 Pleasant Valley Elementary 58 57 64 66 67 66 66 - - Rio Elementary 39 19 33 31 37 40 36 - - Santa Clara Elementary* - - - - - - - - - Santa Paula Elementary 22 23 36 33 29 34 31 - - Santa Paula Union High - - - - - - - 42 25 Simi Valley Unified 53 55 57 61 60 62 58 61 50 Somis Elementary 28 37 47 49 44 42 41 - - Ventura Unified 52 44 53 55 52 59 54 57 44

School District 11th Briggs Elementary - Conejo Valley Unified 67 Fillmore Unified 30 Hueneme Elementary - Mesa Union Elementary - Moorpark Unified 51 Mupu Elementary - Oak Park Unified 70 Ocean View Elementary - Ojai Unified 48 Oxnard Elementary - Oxnard Union High 42 Pleasant Valley Elementary - Rio Elementary - Santa Clara Elementary* - Santa Paula Elementary - Santa Paula Union High 33 Simi Valley Unified 55 Somis Elementary - Ventura Unified 52

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READING

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Briggs Elementary 32 36 29 26 37 39 44 - - Conejo Valley Unified 67 66 69 67 71 71 72 60 58 Fillmore Unified 22 24 24 25 32 26 31 17 22 Hueneme Elementary 30 27 28 36 36 38 39 - - Mesa Union Elementary 54 62 51 64 56 53 65 - - Moorpark Unified 49 45 54 57 57 59 58 47 38 Mupu Elementary 59 61 37 47 51 49 53 - - Oak Park Unified 71 72 75 74 72 78 74 63 62 Ocean View Elementary 31 37 33 33 38 30 35 - - Ojai Unified 49 50 60 59 66 61 67 47 48 Oxnard Elementary 35 24 26 26 35 28 33 - - Oxnard Union High - - - - - - - 28 26 Pleasant Valley Elementary 59 58 64 63 65 64 63 - - Rio Elementary 34 21 29 28 30 32 31 - - Santa Clara Elementary* - - - - - - - - - Santa Paula Elementary 23 22 30 29 26 27 31 - - Santa Paula Union High - - - - - - - 27 18 Simi Valley Unified 49 55 57 57 60 58 58 50 47 Somis Elementary 29 43 48 47 53 43 44 - - Ventura Unified 50 46 53 51 53 55 55 42 39

School District 11th Briggs Elementary - Conejo Valley Unified 62 Fillmore Unified 25 Hueneme Elementary - Mesa Union Elementary - Moorpark Unified 47 Mupu Elementary - Oak Park Unified 61 Ocean View Elementary - Ojai Unified 45 Oxnard Elementary - Oxnard Union High 34 Pleasant Valley Elementary - Rio Elementary - Santa Clara Elementary* - Santa Paula Elementary - Santa Paula Union High 26 Simi Valley Unified 50 Somis Elementary - Ventura Unified 43

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MATHEMATICS

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Briggs Elementary 36 35 25 25 38 47 58 - - Conejo Valley Unified 71 69 65 69 78 75 74 77 66 Fillmore Unified 28 27 21 23 30 26 29 29 24 Hueneme Elementary 32 28 29 37 45 39 37 - - Mesa Union Elementary 59 58 35 47 51 59 63 - - Moorpark Unified 52 50 49 54 54 54 55 62 46 Mupu Elementary 28 30 21 41 67 53 35 - - Oak Park Unified 71 61 65 69 80 74 72 80 64 Ocean View Elementary 35 43 28 40 44 36 36 - - Ojai Unified 48 49 51 48 62 58 65 62 58 Oxnard Elementary 32 26 26 26 37 29 30 - - Oxnard Union High - - - - - - - 42 37 Pleasant Valley Elementary 55 59 58 61 71 65 59 - - Rio Elementary 44 23 27 27 37 32 29 - - Santa Clara Elementary* - - - - - - - - - Santa Paula Elementary 27 26 28 30 30 30 31 - - Santa Paula Union High - - - - - - - 43 26 Simi Valley Unified 49 53 52 55 63 54 54 63 53 Somis Elementary 31 38 51 51 49 39 40 - - Ventura Unified 46 45 43 49 52 50 47 52 44

School District 11th Briggs Elementary - Conejo Valley Unified 72 Fillmore Unified 26 Hueneme Elementary - Mesa Union Elementary - Moorpark Unified 52 Mupu Elementary - Oak Park Unified 63 Ocean View Elementary - Ojai Unified 54 Oxnard Elementary - Oxnard Union High 40 Pleasant Valley Elementary - Rio Elementary - Santa Clara Elementary* - Santa Paula Elementary - Santa Paula Union High 29 Simi Valley Unified 58 Somis Elementary - Ventura Unified 47

*--*

SPELLING

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Briggs Elementary 29 33 23 26 33 42 35 - - Conejo Valley Unified 62 57 65 63 70 71 60 - - Fillmore Unified 20 25 21 25 26 25 25 - - Hueneme Elementary 29 27 24 32 33 38 34 - - Mesa Union Elementary 53 50 45 53 54 58 55 - - Moorpark Unified 46 41 46 47 51 51 42 - - Mupu Elementary 46 52 38 37 35 39 43 - - Oak Park Unified 67 66 75 70 71 73 61 - - Ocean View Elementary 30 37 28 31 36 32 35 - - Ojai Unified 43 46 53 53 61 53 54 - - Oxnard Elementary 31 25 24 27 33 28 28 - - Oxnard Union High - - - - - - - - - Pleasant Valley Elementary 53 51 59 58 62 60 49 - - Rio Elementary 34 24 24 27 30 33 27 - - Santa Clara Elementary* - - - - - - - - - Santa Paula Elementary 21 27 23 27 28 27 27 - - Santa Paula Union High - - - - - - - - - Simi Valley Unified 45 50 53 53 54 56 42 - - Somis Elementary 26 37 39 45 40 40 34 - - Ventura Unified 44 40 46 47 46 50 41 - -

School District 11th Briggs Elementary - Conejo Valley Unified - Fillmore Unified - Hueneme Elementary - Mesa Union Elementary - Moorpark Unified - Mupu Elementary - Oak Park Unified - Ocean View Elementary - Ojai Unified - Oxnard Elementary - Oxnard Union High - Pleasant Valley Elementary - Rio Elementary - Santa Clara Elementary* - Santa Paula Elementary - Santa Paula Union High - Simi Valley Unified - Somis Elementary - Ventura Unified -

*--*

* No summary scores due to small numbers of students tested.

WHAT THE CHART MEANS

The scores above, derived from the Stanford Achievement Test taken in the spring, represent the national percentile ranks for each grade in each Ventura County school district. They are an indication of how the students’ scores compare to other scores from a national sample. A score of 50 is average. It does not represent the percentage of correct answers. The Ventura County superintendent of schools office compiled the tables.