District Posts Some Surprises

Despite their generally higher standardized test scores, students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District also posted some striking exceptions to the countywide trend of improved marks.

Stanford 9 test scores from high school juniors and eighth-graders throughout the 20,100-student district fell this year. And Newport Harbor High School, a well-regarded campus, saw its scores drop a few notches for freshmen and more significantly for juniors in all subject areas. For example, science scores for juniors fell from the 66th percentile to the 55th. Reading scores, last year at the 60th percentile, came in at 52nd this year.

All the school’s marks were still above the national median.

Peggy Anatol, the school district’s director of assessment and secondary curriculum, was at a loss to explain the drops. She noted that while this year’s juniors lagged behind last year’s, scores turned in by this year’s juniors are generally better than the same students’ results from last year, when they were sophomores. This summer, she will look for reasons for the drops.

“Last year, our 11th-grade scores were outstanding,” she said. “We haven’t fully analyzed [this year’s] drop yet. I don’t know how to explain it.”

She’s hoping an extra push on reading comprehension will help the high schoolers recoup some of their losses. High school performances were more ragged at Estancia High--marks dropped three points to the 29th percentile in 11th-grade reading but shot up 12 points to the 49th percentile in freshman math. Corona del Mar High turned in the best marks, with most scores in the 60th and 70th percentiles.

Elementary schoolers chalked up districtwide scores mainly in the 50th and 60th percentiles--with Harbor View and Anderson schools achieving stellar marks mostly in the 80th and 90th percentiles.

Stanford scores are measured against those of a national pool of test-takers. The test is taken by most public-school students in grades two through 11. The 50th percentile is the national median, with half that pool scoring lower and half scoring higher. The test measures basic skills, such as reading, math, language, spelling, science and social science, depending on the grade level.

Two smaller Orange County districts--Brea Olinda and Magnolia--also released improved scores Monday. Two of the county’s 27 school districts--Santa Ana and Placentia-Yorba Linda unified school districts--have yet to release their results, which trickle in to districts over several weeks. The California Department of Education is set to post all state results on the Internet on July 17.

Anaheim’s 6,600-student Magnolia school system saw districtwide scores improve or hold steady in every grade and subject area tested. In this district, where nearly half the pupils are not yet fluent in English, scores mostly hovered below the national average, in the 30th and 40th percentiles. However, the district saw some double-digit jumps on the math portion of the test, which doesn’t hinge as much on English fluency as the other subject areas.

Students in the 6,000-student Brea Olinda district bettered already good marks this year, keeping districtwide elementary and middle school scores mostly in the 60th and 70th percentiles. High schoolers did not fare as well--their reading scores lagged just below the national median and below their other marks.

District officials hope that adding a new cultural geography class for freshmen, using a more reading-intensive science text and giving teachers additional literacy training will help improve high school reading results.

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Newport-Mesa Unified

While most of its standardized test scores rose a bit this year, Newport-Mesa Unified School District also saw some puzzling dips in eighth- and 11th-grade marks. The following list shows Stanford 9 percentile 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 score.

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Reading Math Language Spelling School Grade 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 Districtwide 2 53 57 62 68 57 60 52 55 3 50 54 64 70 57 62 53 56 4 54 57 59 64 58 63 53 57 5 53 55 59 64 60 63 51 54 6 55 60 65 70 61 67 57 61 7 49 56 57 59 62 65 54 56 8 56 55 57 57 63 61 48 48 Adams 2 47 40 55 53 52 45 49 49 3 41 54 59 66 47 63 44 46 4 45 52 57 60 53 53 51 45 5 48 44 53 53 54 52 44 44 Andersen 2 83 82 91 92 89 91 80 77 3 81 87 90 92 88 89 80 78 4 89 87 91 91 90 88 89 76 5 85 86 88 90 88 91 79 83 6 91 86 93 92 93 91 91 90 California 2 65 75 50 79 64 76 60 72 3 61 61 65 65 65 62 60 62 4 61 67 63 71 65 72 61 72 5 69 57 74 68 76 69 61 62 College Park 2 34 40 43 51 31 35 31 37 3 35 37 39 49 42 41 36 40 4 48 NA 45 NA 42 NA 44 NA Davis 4 NA 44 NA 49 NA 50 NA 47 5 40 38 38 44 45 46 44 42 6 49 52 57 58 56 56 55 52 Eastbluff* 2 - 86 - 89 - 89 - 78 3 - 73 - 81 - 80 - 68 4 - 83 - 87 - 84 - 82 5 - 74 - 85 - 82 - 71 6 - 78 - 87 - 76 - 67 Harbor View 2 82 83 92 93 91 92 76 80 3 78 88 89 94 86 90 72 81 4 83 84 89 91 83 86 85 86 5 81 80 89 92 84 87 78 82 6 84 82 89 89 88 85 85 79 Kaiser 3 58 66 70 81 61 74 56 64 4 59 64 57 62 61 71 55 59 5 59 61 64 62 65 64 55 56 6 64 67 76 79 67 73 58 67 Kaiser Primary 2 63 66 68 64 71 63 64 59 Center Killybrooke 2 44 46 47 50 42 52 46 42 3 38 49 48 67 40 46 42 49 4 52 41 62 56 62 53 63 45 5 NA 42 NA 54 NA 54 NA 45 Lincoln 2 79 80 84 87 83 83 71 75 3 70 74 78 83 74 80 70 71 4 75 80 77 86 78 84 71 80 5 84 78 89 86 87 87 82 72 6 81 81 90 89 83 86 76 77 Mariners 2 79 77 87 89 87 85 71 71 3 78 78 87 87 80 81 71 74 4 71 79 72 81 74 77 70 79 5 70 81 81 87 80 85 68 78 6 78 69 87 79 83 72 80 68 Newport 2 66 81 75 88 75 83 61 67 3 66 72 73 79 71 77 59 65 4 73 73 73 72 66 68 61 64 5 56 66 54 65 56 62 44 53 6 68 65 68 69 66 64 64 59 Newport Hts 2 67 63 74 67 79 69 68 59 3 70 70 78 79 73 71 67 71 4 73 65 80 68 77 72 71 66 5 60 72 71 75 71 77 58 63 6 64 63 72 74 71 75 58 63 Paularino 2 47 60 53 66 48 64 47 60 3 49 49 61 63 55 54 52 53 4 44 NA 52 NA 58 NA 47 NA Pomona 2 34 34 44 46 30 36 39 39 3 24 27 46 46 35 34 39 38 Rea 4 20 27 28 42 26 40 21 32 5 17 23 27 40 27 35 20 29 6 23 29 34 44 28 36 25 35 Sonora 2 41 48 60 67 52 56 43 53 3 36 46 48 65 41 52 52 60 4 34 NA 37 NA 32 NA 37 NA Victoria 2 56 62 66 74 65 71 53 60 3 53 50 71 67 54 59 52 59 4 40 58 41 65 50 67 43 68 5 50 51 58 65 59 59 44 49 Whittier 2 22 28 31 46 19 23 25 32 3 21 23 44 54 30 36 30 36 4 18 NA 39 NA 30 NA 20 NA Wilson 2 23 20 34 32 18 15 25 22 3 18 23 25 46 22 30 23 30 4 15 19 17 28 21 33 15 18 5 21 24 30 28 33 35 24 25 Ensign 7 53 64 61 65 63 67 58 61 8 58 65 59 62 64 68 50 53 TeWinkle 6 30 51 40 59 39 62 39 57 7 31 36 39 37 52 52 39 38 8 46 40 44 40 58 53 42 34 Corona del Mar 7 72 79 76 80 82 88 74 78 8 73 69 74 76 77 77 63 64 Costa Mesa 7 39 44 51 52 50 52 42 48 8 45 40 51 48 51 41 39 39

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High Schools

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Social Reading Math Language Science science School Grade 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 Districtwide 9 46 47 60 61 60 61 49 51 53 55 10 41 44 53 57 50 54 53 54 46 52 11 51 46 60 58 60 55 57 54 69 64 Corona del Mar 9 64 68 76 79 75 79 66 71 69 69 10 61 66 71 74 70 76 73 79 66 71 11 66 71 74 82 75 77 75 82 79 82 Costa Mesa 9 43 36 53 52 54 51 44 44 45 43 10 32 37 47 53 40 44 44 46 39 45 11 44 33 57 54 54 47 47 45 69 56 Estancia 9 22 30 37 49 39 50 31 39 32 44 10 22 20 37 36 32 29 36 31 30 34 11 32 29 43 41 41 39 39 37 49 46 Newport Harbor 9 54 51 67 62 68 64 53 52 62 61 10 50 52 57 61 57 60 59 56 50 56 11 60 52 66 60 67 59 66 55 75 71

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Source: Newport-Mesa Unified School District

* Eastbluff School opened this year, so it lacks 1999 scores.

N/A--A district boundary change resulted in the shifting of students from one campus to another. Some schools have added grade levels, others have lost them.

Magnolia School District

Students in the Magnolia School District showed modest improvement in this year’s round of standardized testing, with more dramatic gains in mathematics. The following list shows Stanford 9 percentile 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 score.

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Reading Math Language Spelling School Grade 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 Districtwide 2 33 35 37 41 37 38 35 40 3 30 34 39 48 37 41 39 46 4 34 38 34 44 44 46 37 42 5 32 35 36 46 38 43 39 43 6 38 38 48 53 44 45 40 44 Lord Baden- 2 43 44 42 41 61 50 51 50 Powell 3 34 38 51 60 44 43 40 53 4 32 40 32 53 39 56 35 49 5 37 38 47 50 43 52 46 47 6 29 39 32 45 36 41 37 46 Walt Disney 2 44 41 50 50 47 46 46 40 3 46 51 52 64 56 62 52 55 4 57 54 59 63 65 63 63 59 5 47 65 55 60 56 72 57 61 6 62 54 74 70 68 60 59 62 Juliette Low 2 25 40 44 42 27 29 34 57 3 31 30 58 58 36 36 33 42 4 28 36 36 54 42 43 30 34 5 39 28 42 41 44 40 41 39 6 38 34 46 45 43 34 39 40 Dr.PeterMarshall 2 36 54 44 61 36 47 42 58 3 45 44 51 60 57 57 51 56 4 40 54 37 55 47 55 50 52 5 45 39 47 51 45 45 50 51 6 39 50 48 63 42 57 34 52 Maxwell 2 28 33 27 31 32 36 26 38 3 26 36 34 43 29 37 31 46 4 37 41 30 45 31 39 29 44 5 24 25 23 30 30 35 35 31 6 30 34 33 47 42 45 34 42 Pyles 2 20 19 19 27 18 21 19 22 3 20 20 25 33 26 30 34 31 4 17 19 17 22 29 28 16 22 5 26 21 27 31 25 25 30 31 6 31 29 53 47 34 34 32 29 Salk 2 39 35 41 38 45 38 41 44 3 30 37 35 52 38 42 42 52 4 41 42 44 46 56 53 50 51 5 32 37 37 47 42 43 41 46 6 33 37 49 41 41 44 38 46 Schweitzer 2 32 41 34 54 43 59 33 41 3 30 35 32 39 36 36 34 40 4 35 37 36 43 47 49 37 42 5 32 32 30 49 39 40 40 42 6 45 43 41 65 45 56 45 47 Walter 2 38 28 50 43 48 31 42 31 3 26 31 33 41 29 33 37 45 4 23 30 23 37 34 41 30 3 5 20 30 30 35 24 39 24 41 6 37 31 41 54 42 35 43 37

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Source: Magnolia School District

Brea Olinda Unified

The Brea Olinda Unified School District posted slightly higher districtwide scores on the standardized Stanford 9 test this year, but saw high school scores slump somewhat. The following list shows Stanford 9 percentile 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 score.

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Reading Math Language Spelling School Grade 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 Districtwide 2 70 72 73 75 67 78 67 69 3 64 65 69 69 68 71 62 67 4 67 70 69 73 69 71 63 68 5 62 67 68 73 72 76 58 63 6 67 68 72 74 76 76 65 65 7 65 67 72 76 67 75 60 63 8 68 67 71 73 66 74 53 54 Arrovista 2 68 73 64 80 67 74 58 69 3 63 61 67 62 68 68 52 61 4 67 66 71 71 67 60 57 61 5 59 66 74 79 68 74 62 69 6 55 63 71 81 71 81 56 65 C. Hills 2 75 80 71 85 76 82 69 76 3 70 75 68 76 72 76 61 75 4 76 72 70 61 72 72 69 69 5 71 72 78 78 74 78 63 65 6 78 75 87 80 84 75 78 70 Fanning 2 76 73 70 82 77 82 69 71 3 67 67 77 78 74 67 68 62 4 63 75 60 78 65 81 62 75 5 62 63 70 68 60 67 52 58 6 64 65 71 79 67 69 59 67 Laurel 2 57 62 51 59 64 57 66 59 3 46 50 43 55 51 53 53 55 4 45 51 63 61 58 61 49 53 5 47 48 68 68 58 63 46 50 6 51 58 63 64 61 60 49 45 Mariposa 2 72 71 73 76 74 70 70 68 3 61 70 72 80 66 77 69 77 4 71 73 77 77 75 78 67 72 5 64 72 66 80 73 76 63 65 6 71 73 72 69 69 77 68 68 Olinda 2 70 80 70 87 81 89 70 78 3 86 62 88 69 86 70 79 72 4 84 89 80 87 85 89 77 87 5 66 88 76 93 73 83 62 67 6 77 71 87 87 78 78 75 71 BJH 7 65 67 67 75 72 76 60 63 8 68 67 66 74 71 73 53 54

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Source: Brea Olinda Unified School District

High Schools

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Social Reading Math Language Science science School Grade 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 Districtwide 9 49 49 64 67 74 73 58 58 54 56 10 49 45 58 55 63 62 56 57 53 52 11 53 49 62 59 67 64 65 59 72 70 BOHS 9 50 50 75 74 65 68 59 59 54 57 10 51 47 65 65 61 58 57 58 55 54 11 55 52 70 67 65 62 67 62 74 73 B.Cyn 9 24 20 43 29 32 27 48 37 43 26 10 20 24 30 29 22 24 43 44 30 29 11 31 20 33 28 41 29 43 33 49 39

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Source: Brea Olinda Unified School District