Scores Rise Somewhat in Newport-Mesa

Standardized test scores in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District showed some improvement, but overall scores remained close to last year’s.

Districtwide, the boldest gains on the Stanford 9 examinations were among 11th graders, who improved by at least nine points in every category. Language scores for the district fell among students in grades six through eight.

The Stanford 9 tests evaluate student proficiency in reading, mathematics and language. For elementary and middle school students, the test includes spelling questions. High school students must answer questions on science and social studies as well.

The results are expressed as percentiles, which rank students against their peers nationwide. By definition, the 50th percentile is the national median. Half of the scores are higher than 50th percentile and half of the scores lower.

Newport-Mesa students scored above the national average on all tests except seventh-grade reading and eighth-grade spelling. In math, the district outpaced the national average in all grades.

At the high school level, Corona del Mar posted the highest individual scores. Eleventh-grade students there scored in the 79th percentile in social studies, and ninth-graders reached the 76th percentile for math. Corona del Mar also has significantly more students who are fluent in English; students who are less familiar with the language generally score lower.

But at Whittier Elementary School, scores improved in every grade and category even though the percentage of students still learning English also increased in every grade since last year.

“We are pleased with the progress that many of the schools have shown,” said Peggy Anatol, the district’s director of assessment. “We’re looking for things that we can do better next year.”

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Newport-Mesa Stanford 9 Scores

Newport-Mesa Unified School District students made some improvements on Stanford 9 standardized tests in 1999. Most scores were in the top 50 percent. The following percentile listings show how scores ranked, on average, against a nationally selected group. A score in the 99th percentile, for example, is equal to or higher than all but 1% of the comparison group’s.

Source: Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Newport-Mesa Stanford 9 Scores

Newport-Mesa Unified School District students made some improvements on Stanford 9 standardized tests in 1999. Most scores were in the top 50 percent. The following percentile listings show how scores ranked, on average, against a nationally selected group. A score in the 99th percentile, for example, is equal to or higher than all but 1% of the comparison group’s.

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Reading Math Language Spe School Grade 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 Districtwide 2 53 53 56 62 59 57 48 3 49 50 60 64 55 57 50 4 51 54 55 59 58 58 50 5 50 53 58 59 58 60 47 6 56 55 63 65 64 61 57 7 54 49 57 57 64 62 50 8 58 56 59 57 64 63 48 Adams Elementary 2 40 47 35 55 40 52 35 3 40 41 63 59 56 47 51 4 39 45 51 57 51 53 42 5 34 48 36 53 43 54 33 Andersen Elementary 2 78 83 85 91 88 89 75 3 83 81 85 90 83 88 80 4 88 89 93 91 86 90 82 5 88 85 92 88 90 88 85 6 85 91 93 93 89 93 84 California Elementary 2 58 65 61 50 74 64 59 3 56 61 56 65 59 65 62 4 71 61 70 63 77 65 72 5 69 69 68 74 74 76 67 College Park Elementary 2 37 34 46 43 35 31 34 3 38 35 28 39 37 42 39 4 31 48 29 45 38 42 31 Davis Elementary 5 38 40 41 38 43 45 43 6 49 49 51 57 51 56 51 Harbor View Elementary 2 79 82 89 92 93 91 73 3 80 78 80 89 84 86 70 4 79 83 84 89 78 83 81 5 85 81 91 89 87 84 74 6 83 84 89 89 89 88 83 Kaiser Elementary 3 59 58 72 70 64 61 52 4 60 59 59 57 68 61 55 5 57 59 69 64 64 65 52 6 63 64 74 76 71 67 62 Kaiser Primary Center 2 60 63 59 68 71 71 52 Killybrooke Elementary 2 40 44 42 47 40 42 34 3 44 38 68 48 56 40 58 4 39 52 47 62 58 62 46 Lincoln Elementary 2 73 79 77 84 83 83 63 3 73 70 73 78 75 74 64 4 78 75 84 77 82 78 72 5 74 84 85 89 85 87 65 6 79 81 90 90 84 83 73 Mariners Elementary 2 74 79 87 87 86 87 72 3 72 78 77 87 74 80 70 4 61 71 64 72 69 74 62 5 74 70 87 81 81 80 68 6 80 78 86 87 82 83 80 Newport Elementary 2 66 66 73 75 80 75 61 3 67 66 79 73 69 71 63 4 64 73 63 73 61 66 55 5 60 56 58 54 64 56 56 6 66 68 71 68 72 66 63 Newport Hts. Elementary 2 62 67 69 74 74 79 57 3 70 70 80 78 74 73 59 4 83 73 74 80 70 77 61 5 60 60 73 71 73 71 59 6 72 64 77 72 81 71 77 Paularino Elementary 2 48 47 50 53 55 48 50 3 39 49 54 61 46 55 41 4 57 44 57 52 60 58 59 Pomona Elementary 2 27 34 30 44 23 30 31 3 15 24 27 46 18 35 24 Rea Elementary 4 na 20 na 28 na 26 na 5 20 17 31 27 30 27 21 6 16 23 26 34 21 28 18 Sonora Elementary 2 37 41 52 60 50 52 40 3 35 36 49 48 44 41 52 4 34 34 42 37 40 32 37 Victoria Elementary 2 53 56 62 66 67 65 53 3 43 53 71 71 62 54 45 4 43 40 53 41 55 50 46 5 46 50 62 58 51 59 59 Whittier Elementary 2 21 22 18 31 15 19 20 3 12 21 40 44 16 30 19 4 17 18 19 39 29 30 18 Wilson Elementary 2 31 23 28 34 17 18 21 3 15 18 23 25 19 22 19 4 18 15 19 17 23 21 20 5 15 21 26 30 25 33 16 Ensign Intermediate 7 61 53 62 61 67 63 51 8 66 58 66 59 69 64 53 TeWinkle Middle 6 37 30 41 40 49 39 43 7 44 31 47 39 62 52 43 8 39 46 40 44 53 58 35 Corona del Mar High 7 74 72 77 76 83 82 70 8 68 73 71 74 75 77 56 Costa Mesa High 7 44 39 44 51 46 50 40 8 52 45 53 51 52 51 45

lling School 1999 Districtwide 52 53 53 51 57 54 48 Adams Elementary 49 44 51 44 Andersen Elementary 80 80 89 79 91 California Elementary 60 60 61 61 College Park Elementary 31 36 44 Davis Elementary 44 55 Harbor View Elementary 76 72 85 78 85 Kaiser Elementary 56 55 55 58 Kaiser Primary Center 64 Killybrooke Elementary 46 42 63 Lincoln Elementary 71 70 71 82 76 Mariners Elementary 71 71 70 68 80 Newport Elementary 81 59 61 44 64 Newport Hts. Elementary 68 67 71 58 58 Paularino Elementary 47 52 47 Pomona Elementary 39 39 Rea Elementary 21 20 25 Sonora Elementary 43 52 37 Victoria Elementary 53 52 43 44 Whittier Elementary 25 30 20 Wilson Elementary 25 23 15 24 Ensign Intermediate 58 50 TeWinkle Middle 39 39 42 Corona del Mar High 74 53 Costa Mesa High 42 39

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HIGH SCHOOLS

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Reading Math Language Sciences School Grade 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 Districtwide 9 43 46 56 60 55 60 58 49 10 42 41 48 53 48 50 41 53 11 42 51 47 60 47 60 46 57 Corona del Mar 9 63 64 70 76 72 75 64 66 10 54 61 64 71 64 70 63 73 11 63 66 59 74 65 75 66 75 Costa Mesa High 9 36 43 54 53 50 54 48 44 10 38 32 42 47 46 40 43 44 11 37 44 45 57 46 54 40 47 Estancia High 9 26 22 41 37 43 39 34 31 10 25 22 35 37 29 32 37 36 11 23 32 34 43 30 41 28 39 Newport Harbor High 9 48 54 61 67 56 68 53 53 10 50 50 54 57 54 57 58 59 11 47 60 53 66 50 57 52 66

Social Sciences School Districtwide 50 53 48 46 59 69 Corona del Mar 65 69 60 66 66 79 Costa Mesa High 40 45 43 39 57 69 Estancia High 38 32 33 30 37 49 Newport Harbor High 58 62 55 50 68 75

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Source: Newport-Mesa Unified School District