English Learners Post Gains in State Test

Ventura County students who speak little or no English boosted their scores on a state proficiency test, but still scored far below their classmates who speak fluent English, results released Monday show.

About 19% of the 15,910 limited-English students who took the Stanford 9 test in spring scored at or above the national average in combined tests, compared with nearly 62% of the students who are fluent in English. This year’s scores show an increase of about 3 percentage points over last year’s scores for both populations.

The local scores mirrored statewide results. Nearly 20% of California public school students who speak limited English met or exceeded the national average, compared with 54.8% of students who are fluent in English.

In Ventura County, the 16% of test-takers who struggle with English made the greatest progress in math, but scores were up at least slightly in most grades and subjects. The only drops were in reading at the middle school level.

Local educators were pleased by the improvements, but said the test--given in English--is not an accurate way to assess these students.

“This wasn’t a test intended for kids who don’t speak English,” said Jennifer Robles, bilingual program specialist for Ventura Unified School District. “It’s not fair to compare them to a . . . sample that doesn’t look like this group.”

But state officials say the test, initiated by former Gov. Pete Wilson, gives the state a benchmark to compare the performance of all California’s public school students--regardless of language ability.

The Stanford 9 test, published by Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement, is scored based on the performance of a national sample of students, whose social and ethnic mix varies widely from California’s diverse student population. Only 1.8% of the sample are students who speak limited English. In California, by contrast, a quarter of the state’s students are immigrants or the children of immigrants, and speak little or no English.

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Last month, the California Department of Education released results for the 4.3 million California students who took the test. The data posted on the department’s Web site Monday breaks those scores down by categories, including English fluency, sex and socioeconomic status.

Students in grades 2 through 8 are tested in reading, spelling, math and language. Students in grades 9 through 11 are tested in reading, language, math, social science and science.

Across the county, girls outscored boys in reading and language, and males outscored females in science and social science. The math results were about the same for both genders. As expected, the scores for low-income students were lower than their more affluent peers. And students who are in special education scored lower than students who are not.

Teachers and principals will be looking at these scores closely this year because they will be used to determine which schools will be eligible for financial rewards. Stanford 9 results are the sole indicator used in a statewide school ranking program, which aims to hold teachers and principals accountable for student performance.

With the scores for limited-English students separated out, the overall results for most districts increased. In Simi Valley Unified, for example, about 62.4% of all students reached the national average. Without the limited-English students’ scores, the overall results for Simi Unified were 65%.

Rebecca Wetzel, Simi Valley’s director of elementary education, said the new reports are a “much more realistic look at student achievement.”

“When you throw in those limited-English students, it throws off everything,” Wetzel said.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin said the disparity between the scores of students who speak English fluently and those who don’t is not surprising, because it is difficult for students to do well on the standardized test if they don’t know the language.

However, Eastin added, “As these gains show, our English language learners are holding their own. This is indeed a positive sign.”

State officials warned against attributing the improvements to a reduction in bilingual education programs as a result of Proposition 227, approved by voters in 1998. In the two years since, the state has reduced class sizes and placed a renewed emphasis on reading, among other reforms. In addition, a familiarity with the test and an emphasis on test preparation could have contributed to the increases, educators say.

Teachers throughout the county are taking steps to reduce the performance gap. District officials are enrolling students in intensive summer programs, pairing them with tutors and signing them up for extra language help during the school year.

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Bilingual educators are also analyzing the new state standards for teaching English to nonnative speakers and using those to strengthen instruction for students who speak limited English.

In Fillmore Unified, about 28% of the test-takers this year spoke limited English, and students in almost every grade and subject showed improvement.

Even after passage of Proposition 227, a school can provide bilingual education if a sufficient number of parents submit waivers requesting it.

The district’s teachers have increased their focus on both standards and basic skills, Assistant Supt. Jane Kampbell said Monday. The district is also one of the few in the county where most of the limited-English students are enrolled in English immersion classes, rather than in traditional bilingual classes.

Responding to criticism, politicians have tried--unsuccessfully--to get the state to exempt students who have not received enough English instruction. Some parents are taking it into their own hands by having their limited-English students excused from the exam--an exemption provided for by state law. Cliff Rodrigues, director of bilingual instruction for the county superintendent of schools office, said teachers often complain about giving the test to kids who can’t read English well.

“It’s very hard and frustrating,” Rodrigues said. “We hear from teachers who have gone through this with these kids. In many cases, they say that it’s kind of a traumatic event.”

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FYI

The data are available on the California Department of Education’s Web site at https://www.cde.ca.gov.

Stanford 9 Results

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Limited English English Proficient

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Point Point 2000 1999 Change 2000 1999 Change California 19.9 16.6 +3.3 54.8 52.1 +2.7 Ventura County 19.0 15.7 +3.3 61.9 59.0 +2.9

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The numbers represent the percentage of students scoring at or above the national average on the combined Stanford 9 tests. A 50 means that half the students were at or above the national average.