It’s Hard to Get Straight Answers on Standard Tests

Roughly three in four Santa Ana students struggled through a standardized test they didn’t understand. In Garden Grove, that was the case for about half the students.

And that, in a nutshell, is why the statewide test results are mired in a court battle just two days before they were supposed to be released to the public via the Internet.

A San Francisco court judge Thursday ordered the state Department of Education to publicize only scores that do not include students who speak limited English.

The decision favored Bay Area school administrators who filed a complaint, arguing that scores of students who do not speak English are not meaningful because the exam is not designed for such students.

The scores in Orange County, where 25 of the 27 school districts already have released at least partial results, vividly show why the scores of the limited-English students have become a sore point among educators, sometimes pulling down a school’s overall scores to the point where it is difficult to tell how the English-speaking students fared.

Limited-English students consistently have scored in the bottom quarter or so of students nationwide, the Orange County results show. In schools with a sizable population of those students, the overall scores end up looking mediocre to dismal, even when most of the English-speaking students tested at or above average.

Consider the Santa Ana Unified School District.

There, second-graders who speak English ranked at the 49th percentile in reading, meaning they did better than 49% of their peers in a national sample. Limited-English students, who represented 67% of the second-graders tested, scored at the 17th percentile, pulling down the district’s overall second-grade score to the 21st percentile rank.

“If you look at Santa Ana’s English-only scores, they are hovering around the middle. All of a sudden Santa Ana looks normal,” said Howard, whose district overall is 71% limited-English speaking. “But when we bring in the whole [limited-English] population, the numbers look low.”

Because those students’ scores often are so much lower than their English-speaking counterparts’, even a smaller number of tests taken by limited-English students can skew the scores.

In the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, for example, 29% of the fourth-graders are not fluent in English and tested at the 18th percentile in the standardized test. Native English speakers scored at the 68th percentile, with the overall ranking at the 51st percentile.

With numbers like that, many Orange County educators were cheering the court decision, which will result in a showing of overall higher scores when the state publishes its scores. That publication, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been delayed indefinitely by the court decision.

“When you give a test to a kid who [doesn’t know the language it’s written in], you don’t get valid results,” said Al Sims, testing administrator at Garden Grove Unified School District where 50% of the 34,000 students tested do not speak fluent English.

Although the court ruling does not apply to local school districts, Sims said his district chose to withhold scores of limited-English students as a safeguard.

Santa Ana Unified director of bilingual education Howard Bryan called the ruling a “very fair decision” that ensures scores will be presented equally.

“The whole [issue of including limited-English students] is skewing the scores,” Bryan said.

Concern over testing students who are not fluent in English erupted in March when the San Francisco Unified School District refused to give the state test to its 6,000 non-fluent students. District officials took the state to court and won two rulings in its favor.

Meanwhile, most of the state’s other public schools tested fluent and non-fluent students alike.

In Irvine Unified, where 11% of its students speak limited English, overall test figures were generally at the 70th percentile, well above the national averages. But scores of limited-English students lowered districtwide results in some grade levels by four points.

Irvine Unified testing coordinator Beverly Huff said news of the judge’s decision was bittersweet.

“It’s a good step at the wrong time,” Huff said.

The advantages of the recent court order is that districts won’t be unfairly judged, she said. But there is value to having the test data on limited-English students, Huff added.

“If we want to talk about all students then we should test them all and be able to pull out specialized populations to do analyses,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

The downside, Huff added, is that the ruling comes days before the state was supposed to post all California test scores broken down by individual schools, she said. Further complicating matters, various districts have been publicly releasing information over the past two weeks. The remaining few districts are left in a quandary of what they are permitted to do.

“It’s difficult being midstream,” Huff added. “Everyone’s wrestling with their data.”

Two Orange County school districts, Orange Unified School District and Savannah School District, have not released test scores.

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Grading the Schools

Four more Orange County school districts released scores in the state’s new standardized test of basic skills, the Stanford 9. The test was given to students in grades two to 11 from mid-March to mid-May.

Editor’s note: The percentile figures show how student scores ranked, on average, against a nationally selected group in spelling, reading, language and math. High school students were tested in reading, language, math, science and social studies. Those at

the 50th percentile, for example, scored higher than one half of the pool and lower than the other half.

“LEP” designates students who are limited English proficient. “R-FEP” refers to students who were formerly LEP but have been reclassified as fluent English proficient, and “FEP” refers in general to students who have a native language other than English but are also fluent in English.

Below are 1998 scores expressed as national percentile rankings

Brea Olinda Unified

District % LEP--11%

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School Grade Read Lang. Spell Math Districtwide 2 69 73 62 67 3 65 67 57 68 4 64 68 61 69 5 65 68 58 73 6 67 73 61 73 7 67 74 63 66 8 65 65 49 66 Arovista 2 58 65 48 57 3 66 65 54 66 4 55 59 47 60 5 54 57 47 63 6 59 69 57 67 Country 2 73 78 61 73 Hills 3 72 74 58 78 4 74 74 76 76 5 77 81 72 82 6 80 84 72 86 Fanning 2 74 73 65 70 3 64 66 57 53 4 61 62 60 66 5 59 65 50 68 6 68 72 60 70 Laurel 2 64 65 63 58 3 48 52 46 54 4 40 53 41 54 5 48 56 46 65 6 51 57 40 63 Mariposa 2 69 75 70 71 3 65 70 70 78 4 79 80 73 81 5 68 70 61 72 6 66 75 67 73 Olinda 2 82 89 74 81 3 71 72 57 83 4 69 76 63 77 5 90 85 84 93 6 79 79 67 82 Brea 7 67 74 63 66 Jr. High 8 65 65 49 66

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School Grade Read Lang. Math Science Social Districtwide 9 48 60 72 58 56 10 52 56 67 63 59 11 50 56 70 60 68 Brea 9 48 60 73 58 56 Olinda 10 54 58 69 65 60 11 52 58 73 63 70 Canyon 10 31 22 37 36 32 11 23 25 23 27 34 V. View 11 47 57 42 51 51

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Spell Grade 2 LEP 53 53 44 57 ENG ONLY 71 76 70 61 FEP 39 40 52 38 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 3 LEP 32 37 38 25 ENG ONLY 69 70 69 58 FEP 52 56 61 51 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 4 LEP 25 36 42 23 ENG ONLY 64 67 68 62 FEP 57 71 78 65 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 5 LEP 29 33 38 26 ENG ONLY 69 72 76 61 FEP 65 68 77 61 R-FEP 35 46 56 35 Grade 6 LEP 22 31 31 21 ENG ONLY 71 76 77 61 FEP 64 77 76 72 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 7 LEP 30 47 53 32 ENG ONLY 72 78 68 67 FEP 59 69 63 62 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 8 LEP 33 37 51 25 ENG ONLY 70 70 68 54 FEP 66 72 72 57 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Science Social Grade 9 LEP 25 44 60 38 31 ENG ONLY 50 62 73 60 58 FEP 53 71 79 66 66 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 10 LEP 12 20 46 26 20 ENG ONLY 54 58 67 65 61 FEP 67 71 83 76 76 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 11 LEP 19 30 51 30 33 ENG ONLY 54 60 70 64 71 FEP 51 61 82 61 78 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Garden Grove Unified

District % LEP--49%

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Spell Grade 2 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 48 50 47 46 FEP 59 62 62 61 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 3 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 43 42 45 39 FEP 44 50 56 51 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 4 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 48 51 45 41 FEP 56 61 63 58 R-FEP 71 78 81 85 Grade 5 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 51 51 47 44 FEP 63 66 65 59 R-FEP 63 73 74 69 Grade 6 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 54 55 57 45 FEP 63 67 72 66 R-FEP 65 73 79 74 Grade 7 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 52 60 53 53 FEP 62 72 71 71 R-FEP 62 77 76 72 Grade 8 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 54 57 54 44 FEP 62 66 66 57 R-FEP 61 69 72 60

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Science Social Grade 9 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 43 55 58 50 46 FEP 46 66 70 52 52 R-FEP 44 68 74 54 53 Grade 10 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 41 45 50 51 43 FEP 45 54 60 56 50 R-FEP 41 54 67 57 51 Grade 11 LEP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ENG ONLY 46 51 52 51 61 FEP 48 62 65 56 66 R-FEP 43 55 61 50 62

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Ocean View

District % LEP--18%

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School Grade Read Lang. Spell Math Districtwide 2 55 63 50 61 3 52 56 47 61 4 55 61 52 59 5 54 64 50 58 6 60 65 54 71 7 58 69 56 72 8 62 68 52 72 Circle 2 65 77 55 71 View 3 68 72 56 79 4 72 73 66 72 5 78 82 69 88 College 2 46 56 40 59 View 3 50 54 43 57 4 44 55 37 48 5 51 60 45 56 Golden 2 64 72 49 59 View 3 60 63 47 64 4 49 56 44 56 5 55 59 45 47 Harbour 2 67 73 61 71 View 3 66 70 57 72 4 65 70 63 67 5 69 75 67 66 Hope 2 61 66 57 62 View 3 65 67 57 64 4 63 62 53 57 5 61 69 52 59 Lake View 2 45 54 46 55 3 41 50 49 51 4 48 57 54 51 5 50 55 48 39 Oak View 2 30 29 31 41 3 13 16 14 27 4 13 26 13 32 5 15 34 18 22 Star View 2 56 66 59 60 3 57 60 60 65 4 57 66 64 64 5 54 66 50 63 Sun View 2 37 37 38 37 3 35 40 44 52 4 41 52 39 39 5 43 53 47 40 Village 2 61 72 46 66 View 3 65 71 55 72 4 66 63 58 70 5 62 71 55 69 Vista 6 58 73 56 74 View 7 48 68 52 69 Middle 8 57 65 52 74 Westmont 2 34 49 40 59 3 29 31 27 43 4 45 54 48 51 5 43 60 42 54

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Spell Grade 2 LEP 25 27 36 29 ENG ONLY 61 70 66 53 FEP 59 68 64 63 R-FEP 62 77 69 66 Grade 3 LEP 13 17 26 18 ENG ONLY 62 65 68 52 FEP 54 63 67 72 R-FEP 49 57 65 58 Grade 4 LEP 12 23 22 13 ENG ONLY 64 66 64 57 FEP 60 71 66 70 R-FEP 45 61 59 58 Grade 5 LEP 10 23 17 14 ENG ONLY 65 71 65 56 FEP 58 69 67 63 R-FEP 43 66 59 50 Grade 6 LEP 16 23 26 14 ENG ONLY 65 69 75 57 FEP 64 70 79 67 R-FEP 41 54 63 50 Grade 7 LEP 13 24 31 14 ENG ONLY 64 73 75 61 FEP 57 70 78 64 R-FEP 50 70 77 64 Grade 8 LEP 23 26 36 19 ENG ONLY 66 72 74 54 FEP 73 82 86 71 R-FEP 57 65 78 58

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Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified

District % LEP--15%

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School Grade Read Lang. Spell Math Districtwide 2 59 61 57 60 3 55 57 52 59 4 58 59 55 58 5 57 61 56 60 6 60 61 59 69 7 59 66 59 68 8 60 62 50 66 Brookhaven 2 57 68 59 58 3 62 66 56 73 4 73 78 72 75 5 73 75 68 80 6 67 72 69 84 Bryant 2 60 70 63 74 Ranch 3 62 64 60 70 4 68 65 67 66 5 70 71 66 72 6 77 71 78 83 Fairmont 2 73 77 72 74 3 69 67 66 71 4 76 71 73 76 5 74 76 78 81 6 80 83 82 91 Glenknoll 2 71 70 69 76 3 57 57 60 67 4 77 74 72 82 5 71 67 68 74 6 72 75 76 80 Glenview 2 63 61 64 64 3 57 54 56 58 4 54 54 59 51 5 54 55 57 48 6 59 55 60 65 Golden 2 61 64 48 71 3 57 53 51 61 4 77 75 75 77 5 78 77 76 79 6 76 75 74 84 Linda Vista 2 62 64 59 76 3 60 66 55 71 4 65 61 55 63 5 68 81 61 79 Mabel Paine 2 58 69 53 61 3 58 62 53 59 4 56 54 52 45 5 61 71 54 44 Morse 2 38 37 42 37 3 43 46 43 44 4 50 54 47 46 5 41 48 41 42 6 44 53 47 60 Rio Vista 2 32 34 37 40 3 33 41 36 44 4 21 28 21 24 5 22 29 26 24 Rose Drive 2 63 59 57 63 3 63 66 53 63 4 73 74 66 64 5 65 71 61 62 Ruby Drive 2 38 37 37 29 3 37 36 35 33 4 25 32 17 25 5 29 38 30 24 6 28 32 23 29 Sierra 2 61 63 58 58 Vista 3 63 67 61 70 4 72 70 67 68 5 65 72 71 75 6 68 71 69 74 Topaz 2 34 30 26 31 3 27 25 23 26 4 24 27 22 32 5 19 27 18 26 6 17 19 20 30 Travis 2 71 72 67 79 3 70 69 60 72 4 68 71 69 66 5 70 71 63 76 6 70 73 62 74 7 67 76 65 73 8 67 69 56 74 Tynes 2 23 24 33 23 3 23 35 27 36 4 32 45 29 36 5 24 33 26 25 6 32 41 32 41 Van Buren 2 67 72 67 73 3 66 66 65 66 4 59 55 62 65 5 61 68 66 74 6 60 60 57 79 Wagner 2 66 63 55 63 3 59 59 54 62 4 65 58 61 67 5 50 46 54 54 6 59 57 51 68 Woodsboro 2 65 71 57 65 3 65 62 60 66 4 50 55 45 54 5 62 72 63 71 6 51 56 54 54 Bernardo 7 71 76 71 80 Yorba 8 66 71 56 77 Kraemer 6 29 30 30 35 Middle 7 36 44 39 47 8 40 44 36 47 Tuffree 7 63 70 64 69 8 69 69 57 70 Yorba Linda 6 63 60 56 64 7 63 70 62 67 8 65 64 50 66

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School Grade Read Lang. Math Science Social Districtwide 9 48 59 63 54 51 10 50 55 60 56 55 11 54 58 65 59 69 El Camino 9 27 32 30 29 27 10 23 20 27 31 23 11 33 32 27 30 34 El Dorado 9 55 63 70 62 57 10 58 60 65 66 63 11 63 63 71 68 78 Esperanza 9 57 66 72 60 56 10 57 62 68 63 62 11 59 65 73 65 71 La Entrada 9 43 48 44 38 44 10 46 45 45 53 36 11 59 52 48 56 58 Valencia 9 29 46 42 39 38 10 31 40 42 37 38 11 39 46 51 44 59

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Spell Grade 2 LEP 24 28 28 28 ENG ONLY 62 66 66 59 FEP 58 60 60 65 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 3 LEP 19 27 32 25 ENG ONLY 61 61 64 56 FEP 54 62 63 62 R-FEP N/A N/A N/A N/A Grade 4 LEP 15 24 20 13 ENG ONLY 65 64 64 62 FEP 58 63 63 65 R-FEP 73 80 86 84 Grade 5 LEP 13 22 18 17 ENG ONLY 65 67 67 62 FEP 63 70 71 68 R-FEP 63 74 74 78 Grade 6 LEP 15 20 22 16 ENG ONLY 66 66 74 63 FEP 68 73 77 75 R-FEP 68 77 83 81 Grade 7 LEP 12 18 23 13 ENG ONLY 67 72 73 66 FEP 64 75 78 72 R-FEP 60 71 76 70 Grade 8 LEP 15 18 24 15 ENG ONLY 66 68 71 54 FEP 68 67 73 57 R-FEP 63 70 76 64

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Districtwide Read Lang. Math Science Social Grade 9 LEP 11 26 26 24 22 ENG ONLY 54 63 67 58 55 FEP 57 69 71 62 61 R-FEP 47 66 67 58 52 Grade 10 LEP 8 16 26 20 17 ENG ONLY 57 60 64 61 61 FEP 47 60 64 59 53 R-FEP 47 55 66 55 59 Grade 11 LEP 10 21 30 23 31 ENG ONLY 60 62 68 64 73 FEP 55 64 71 61 72 R-FEP 54 57 76 55 72

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Sources: Individual school districts and Orange County Department of Education; Compiled by JENNY ANGLIN, DANIEL ARREOLA, DIANA KRISTINAT, GENA PASILLAS and JENNIFER TREXLER / Los Angeles Times