O.C. Schools’ Report Card / GRADE 9

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 9

California

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Statewide 34 34 50 51 16.0 47.8

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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 38 39 57 60 22.6 50.5

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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 28 28 46 48 28.8 44.8 Anaheim High 16 18 31 37 52.5 38.9 Cypress High 46 47 66 65 5.1 54.0 Gilbert High 16 14 23 23 44.8 33.5 Katella High 28 29 44 47 36.6 45.0 Kennedy High 42 40 66 67 7.0 50.2 Loara High 28 26 48 48 35.0 44.5 Magnolia High 21 21 36 42 35.0 41.1 Polaris High 13 28 23 31 13.1 41.3 Savanna High 30 26 52 44 21.6 44.8 Trident Continuation High -- 6 -- 13 94.9 30.5 Western High 25 27 46 50 22.3 45.2

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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 48 49 72 74 10.4 54.6 Brea Canyon High * 24 * 43 -- 40.2 Brea-Olinda High 48 50 73 75 10.8 55.2

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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 58 56 71 72 7.4 57.1 Aliso Niguel High 60 59 75 78 5.5 59.8 Capistrano Valley High 56 50 71 70 9.1 55.9 Dana Hills High 62 60 71 69 8.9 57.6 San Clemente High 55 53 68 68 6.5 54.4

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Fullerton Joint Union High

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Fullerton Joint Union High 42 43 62 62 16.0 52.1 Buena Park High 22 22 39 38 15.0 42.5 Fullerton High 30 30 47 46 30.9 45.9 La Habra High 38 35 56 48 15.4 48.7 Sonora High 41 37 58 58 21.8 49.8 Sunny Hills High 54 56 77 79 6.7 58.0 Troy High 64 71 83 86 8.1 64.4

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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 28 29 54 55 40.0 46.1 Bolsa Grande High 22 24 55 56 47.7 44.1 Garden Grove High 36 39 59 62 29.0 50.2 La Quinta High 30 36 65 67 38.2 49.7 Lake High 19 15 30 21 44.5 35.3 Lincoln Education Center - Continuation * * 60.0 Los Amigos High 24 24 48 48 50.8 44.1 Pacifica High 49 44 67 66 9.7 52.7 Rancho Alamitos High 26 25 51 51 40.0 43.3 Santiago High 17 20 40 43 57.5 41.0

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Huntington Beach Union High

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Read Read Math Math % LEP Std. Name 98 99 98 99 Tested 99 Huntington Beach Union High 42 45 62 65 14.9 52.7 Edison High 53 52 66 68 2.5 56.4 Fountain Valley High 51 53 72 72 9.0 56.8 Huntington Beach Alternative High 58 34 51 33 -- 42.7 Huntington Beach High 45 51 61 67 6.5 54.9 Marina High 48 52 67 69 6.3 55.0 Ocean View High 37 42 54 61 23.4 50.9 Westminster High 23 26 50 54 40.3 42.9

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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 63 60 82 81 11.5 60.3 Irvine High 65 59 82 79 9.0 61.2 S.E.L.F. Alternate High 32 16 47 25 4.8 41.5 San Joaquin High * * -- University High 67 67 88 88 15.3 62.4 Woodbridge High 57 56 76 77 11.1 57.9

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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 68 59 77 79 2.0 59.9 Laguna Beach High 68 59 77 79 2.0 59.9

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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 57 54 75 75 1.9 57.8 Laurel High 44 39 34 34 -- 47.9 Los Alamitos High 57 54 76 76 1.9 58.0

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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 43 46 56 60 20.3 53.2 Back Bay High 15 9 20 19 30.1 30.3 Corona Del Mar High 63 64 70 76 3.5 61.4 Costa Mesa High 36 43 54 53 24.7 51.9 Estancia High 26 22 41 37 48.5 40.9 Monte Vista High 51 49 35 43 6.3 48.5 Newport Harbor High 48 54 61 67 12.9 56.9

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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 19 13 24 21 0.3 32.8 Juvenile Hall/Community 18 13 23 21 0.3 32.6 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 45 47 63 68 15.8 53.2 Canyon High 55 55 75 75 2.4 56.4 El Modena High 41 48 60 69 13.3 54.9 Orange High 27 28 39 46 37.8 43.8 Richland Continuation High * * -- Villa Park High 56 57 75 80 7.5 58.1

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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 48 48 63 66 11.1 54.5 El Camino Real Continuation High 27 27 30 29 12.2 41.6 El Dorado High 55 58 70 72 3.2 58.3 Esperanza High 57 58 72 72 2.9 58.5 La Entrada High 43 64 44 56 -- 57.7 Valencia High 29 29 42 51 31.4 45.7

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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 Vly. Unified 56 55 73 72 6.2 57.8 El Toro High 52 52 72 72 7.1 56.3 Laguna Hills High 56 59 74 76 7.4 59.8 Mira Monte High 66 67 -- Mission Viejo High 61 58 74 71 5.7 58.7 Silverado High 26 24 47 26 -- Trabuco Hills High 55 53 72 71 4.9 57.1

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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 15 17 31 35 63.1 38.4 Century High 17 18 33 36 67.0 39.0 Chavez Alternative High 12 16 21 20 63.0 34.0 Mountain View High 15 10 26 18 58.9 31.3 Saddleback High 21 22 41 42 49.1 42.0 Santa Ana High 13 14 28 32 70.4 36.1 Valley High 13 15 26 33 66.3 36.8

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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 37 41 53 57 18.4 52.1 Foothill High 42 47 56 64 14.6 54.9 Hillview High * * -- Sycamore High * 27 * 26 -- 36.3 Tustin High 34 36 50 51 23.0 49.7

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