O.C. Schools’ Report Card / GRADE 8

UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS / READING THE TABLES

In California, almost 4.2 million public school students in grades 2 through 11 took the Stanford 9 standardized tests this spring, for the second year in a row. All of them were tested in reading, math and writing. Students through grade 8 also took a spelling test, and students in higher grades took exams in science and history/social science.

On Thursday, the state Department of Education released scores for each school. The Times today presents scores from selected testing subjects.

Readers who want to know how a school in Orange County is doing can use these scores as a gauge, keeping in mind that not all subjects are represented.

Results for all grades, schools and districts in all categories will be available on the Internet at a state Web site at https://www.cde.ca.gov.

To find your school’s scores:

* Look first for the grade level.

* Then, search down the column to find your school district. Individual schools are listed underneath, in alphabetical order.

* The scores appear to the right of your school’s name. The columns report 1998 and 1999 testing data in the “Reading” and “Math” categories. Use the guide at the top of each column of numbers to determine which category the score is in.

For each test, the chart shows the national percentile rank achieved by students in each school, in both years. (See below: “How to Interpret the Percentile Rank.”)

(Note: State officials warn that strict comparisons of a school’s 1998 and 1999 scores may be misleading. One reason is that Proposition 227 has brought major changes in instruction for students not fluent in English, and the Stanford 9 test is designed to measure achievement by students who are fluent.)

* The chart also has a category labeled “%LEP Tested.” This column of numbers shows the percentage of students who took the test at the school who were classified as “limited English proficient.” Schools with a higher percentage of such students will tend to have lower scores, in part because these students may have had difficulty understanding the questions, which were all in English.

* The far right column, labeled “Std. 99,” shows student performance on questions reflecting California’s standards in language arts. The score is the average number of questions answered correctly by students in that grade. (Students in the grades listed here answered 90 such questions.) Because this is the first year for such questions, there is as yet no definition of what is “good” or “bad.”

Note: An asterisk (*) means the number of students tested was 10 or fewer. A dash (--) means data were unavailable.

* HOW TO INTERPRET THE PERCENTILE RANK

Even among experts, there is no one view on what a percentile rank tells about school performance. But a rank of 50 means that, taken together, the school’s students were right at the national median when measured against a sample of their peers across the country--even though some students at the school may be doing quite well and others poorly.

A percentile rank of 25 or less suggests that many of the students are doing poorly when measured against the national sample. A rank of 75 or above shows that a high percentage of students are doing well. Scores for grades or schools in which few children were tested may appear abnormally high or low, and should be interpreted cautiously.

Comparing the individual scores sent to your home with those of the school will help you gauge where your child ranks against classmates.

Main story, A1.

* ORANGE COUNTY GRADE 8

California

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Statewide 44 46 45 48 17.5 51.4

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Orange County

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Orange County 50 51 55 57 22.5 53.8

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Anaheim Union High

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Anaheim Union High 37 37 44 46 26.3 47.6 Ball Junior High 37 35 46 43 32.4 43.3 Brookhurst Junior High 37 38 42 49 22.0 47.0 Dale Junior High 30 31 37 44 34.5 44.4 Lexington Jr. High 62 59 62 58 4.7 54.5 Orangeview Junior High 38 32 41 40 18.5 44.8 Oxford High -- 76 -- 81 -- 66.7 Polaris High 28 29 23 21 9.4 40.5 South Junior High 33 29 42 41 37.9 42.5 Sycamore Junior High 23 22 30 32 51.6 27.8 Walker Junior High 45 47 58 56 9.4 52.7

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Brea-Olinda Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Brea-Olinda Unified 65 68 66 66 6.9 61.4 Brea Junior High 65 68 66 66 6.9 61.4

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Buena Park Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Buena Park Elementary 34 30 40 39 22.1 45.2 Buena Park Junior High 34 30 40 39 22.1 45.2

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Capistrano Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Capistrano Unified 65 63 66 67 6.9 58.6 Aliso Viejo Middle 67 68 67 64 5.5 60.2 Ayer Middle -- 58 -- 59 14.1 56.7 Forster Middle 55 52 52 52 19.3 52.7 Las Flores 69 64 69 71 1.0 58.9 Newhart Elementary 70 69 74 76 2.7 61.4 Niguel Hills Middle 67 66 72 74 3.7 60.2 Shorecliffs Middle 65 64 63 67 4.1 59.0

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Fountain Valley Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Fountain Valley Elem. 64 64 70 70 4.5 60.9 Fulton Middle 72 69 80 79 2.3 63.2 Masuda Middle 65 63 70 71 8.5 61.3 Moiola Elementary 60 63 60 65 4.1 59.3 Talbert Middle 53 59 59 60 2.4 58.1

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Fullerton Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Fullerton Elementary 54 55 61 62 12.1 54.3 Ladera Vista Junior High 57 56 56 55 14.1 53.3 Nicolas Junior High 38 40 44 46 16.4 47.9 Parks Junior High 67 69 80 82 5.6 62.0

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Garden Grove Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Garden Grove Unified 41 42 50 52 38.9 49.6 Alamitos Intermediate 41 38 56 57 37.3 47.3 Bell Intermediate 56 59 58 62 2.7 56.6 Doig Intermediate 31 33 39 44 59.3 45.6 Fitz Intermediate 36 44 48 51 47.3 49.9 Irvine Intermediate 36 37 44 48 49.5 47.8 Jordan Intermediate 47 38 57 46 49.9 48.8 Lincoln Education Center - Continuation * * 50.0 McGarvin Intermediate 47 46 60 53 32.6 52.5 Ralston Intermediate 42 49 50 56 27.2 52.8 Walton Intermediate 41 40 45 49 39.4 47.0

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Huntington Beach City Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Huntington Beach City Elementary 64 66 69 69 4.4 60.6 Dwyer Middle 57 60 59 61 8.3 58.4 Sowers Middle 70 70 77 74 1.5 62.3

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Irvine Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Irvine Unified 72 71 77 79 9.5 64.2 Lakeside Middle 74 75 80 82 8.0 65.5 Rancho San Joaquin Middle 68 71 75 82 18.8 63.7 Sierra Vista Middle 75 71 77 79 7.4 63.9 South Lake Middle 70 66 74 70 8.6 62.8 Venado Middle 74 72 78 81 5.7 64.3 Vista Verde Elementary 82 81 74 83 2.6 69.7

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La Habra City Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 La Habra City Elem. 38 44 41 52 24.2 49.8 Imperial Middle 38 45 46 55 25.1 50.7 Washington Middle 38 44 35 50 23.3 48.9

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Laguna Beach Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Laguna Beach Unified 73 75 71 76 1.1 65.2 Thurston Middle 73 75 71 76 1.1 65.2

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Los Alamitos Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Los Alamitos Unified 72 68 67 71 2.2 62.4 McAuliffe Middle 72 67 71 72 2.3 62.2 Oak Middle 72 69 62 69 2.0 62.6

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Newport-Mesa Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Newport-Mesa Unified 58 56 59 57 23.5 56.1 Corona Del Mar High 68 73 71 74 0.8 64.5 Costa Mesa High 52 45 53 51 30.7 52.7 Ensign Intermediate 66 58 66 59 20.1 56.4 Tewinkle Middle 39 46 40 44 42.6 51.6

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Ocean View Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Ocean View Elementary 62 61 72 69 11.5 58.1 Marine View Middle 63 61 69 68 12.7 58.9 Mesa View Middle 71 63 76 68 15.4 57.4 Spring View Middle 60 61 70 69 8.5 58.2 Vista View Middle 57 57 74 73 9.7 57.6

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Orange County Office of Education

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Orange County Office of Education 39 16 33 16 -- 33.3 Juvenile Hall/Community 23 16 19 16 -- 33.1 Special Education * * --

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Orange Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Orange Unified 50 53 53 57 20.8 54.9 Cerro Villa Middle 56 64 64 69 8.8 59.3 El Rancho Middle 64 68 66 73 3.9 62.5 Portola Middle 33 29 30 26 48.6 44.1 Richland Continuation High 30 35 25 26 -- 42.6 Santiago Middle 54 56 59 63 19.5 56.5 Yorba Middle 31 33 35 37 39.3 45.5

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Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified 60 62 66 68 11.5 59.0 Kraemer Junior High 40 44 47 50 35.0 51.2 Travis Ranch Elementary 67 67 74 76 2.6 61.5 Tuffree Junior High 69 68 70 71 2.4 61.0 Yorba Junior High 66 70 77 77 3.0 63.3 Yorba Linda Middle 65 65 66 69 1.4 59.0

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Saddleback Valley Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Saddleback Valley Unified 63 67 67 73 5.5 61.4 La Paz Intermediate 68 72 70 76 4.0 63.8 Los Alisos Intermediate 60 65 61 69 10.6 58.9 Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate 66 67 70 76 2.9 63.1 Serrano Intermediate 58 63 65 69 5.2 59.7

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Santa Ana Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Santa Ana Unified 25 25 26 30 62.5 41.9 Carr Intermediate 21 21 22 26 69.6 39.8 Century High -- -- -- Lathrop Intermediate 22 23 23 24 69.5 40.3 Mac Arthur Fundament 49 49 49 57 17.1 53.7 McFadden Intermediate 30 29 33 34 58.0 43.5 Santa Ana Community Day 16 10 14 15 43.8 Sierra Intermediate 21 21 23 27 70.3 39.9 Spurgeon Intermediate 22 20 22 24 69.8 39.8 Villa Fundamental -- 30 -- 34 61.5 45.5 Willard Intermediate 19 21 21 26 70.4 38.4

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Tustin Unified

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Tustin Unified 52 49 49 51 18.4 53.3 Columbus Tustin Middle 46 35 37 37 38.6 47.0 Currie Middle 35 36 35 34 39.6 46.1 Hewes Middle 66 68 69 73 3.7 62.0 Sycamore High -- -- -- Utt Middle 58 53 52 52 -- 55.6

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Westminster Elementary

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Westminster Elem. 40 41 53 56 30.1 51.1 Johnson Middle 41 37 53 51 38.1 50.6 Stacey Intermediate 47 48 56 62 22.7 54.4 Warner Middle 32 38 49 54 33.0 48.6

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