High School Test Scores Rise

Standardized test scores for schools in the Huntington Beach Union High School District show a steady improvement over the last two years, pleasing administrators who say the Stanford 9 results, released Thursday, demonstrate that their strategies are working.

This is the third year of the Stanford 9, which tests students on reading, math, language, social studies and science.

The overwhelming majority of the high school district’s results exceeded the national average.

Huntington Beach Union’s highest scores are in math--generally falling between the 60th and 70th percentiles. The weakest scores were in reading.

Reading scores varied dramatically from school to school, with scores in the 50th percentile at Huntington Beach High but dipping into the 20th percentile at Westminster High. Even at Westminster, where 44% of the students speak limited English, Thursday’s reading scores are higher by several percentile points than scores in the last two years.

By definition, the 50th percentile is the national median, with half the nationwide pool of test takers scoring higher and half scoring lower.

“The kind of improvement we’re seeing is exactly what I want to happen,” said Jerry White, director of curriculum for the district. “I’m always leery of large jumps in scores. I think a steady increase shows a methodical approach toward changing how kids learn.”

The increases may be moderate, but the districtwide effort to boost scores has been anything but.

Since the advent of the test--which soon will be tied to financial rewards and possible penalties for districts, schools and possibly individual educators--the district has attacked its one academic weak spot on several fronts.

The high schools have reading committees, lunchtime reading circles led by volunteer teachers, words of the day, words of the week and candy and other prizes for students with the right answers.

The Stanford 9 is a critical piece of California’s effort to make schools demonstrate student achievement, and for now it is the only factor used in ranking them against other schools statewide. Schools that achieve their growth targets are eligible for cash rewards, while those that don’t face penalties that range up to a state takeover.

At Fountain Valley High, where administrators made sure the students knew the school would be judged by how well they performed on the test, preparing everyone for the Stanford 9 was akin to a yearlong pep rally.

Students kept the walls filled with huge posters of vocabulary words, and even French and Spanish classes got into the act, making sure the chosen word was on their walls as well. On the day of the test, the school issued students pencils etched with the school slogan, “Go Barons!” and about one-third of the teachers brought juice and muffins to keep empty stomachs from hindering performance.

The result was that Fountain Valley’s test scores rose in every category.

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Huntington Beach Scores Up

The following percentile listing shows that Huntington Beach Union High School District’s Stanford 9 test scores ranked slightly higher than last year, 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.

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Reading Math Language Science Social science School Grade 99 00 99 00 99 00 Districtwide 9 45 48 65 70 61 65 10 41 46 62 65 49 54 11 43 44 61 64 53 56 Edison 9 52 56 68 71 68 10 50 51 62 66 58 59 11 48 53 65 66 61 64 Fountain Valley 9 53 57 72 75 70 73 10 48 56 73 70 60 64 11 49 57 72 75 63 66 Huntington Beach 9 51 55 67 73 64 72 10 47 52 63 66 56 59 11 50 51 65 63 55 63 Marina 9 52 50 69 72 63 68 10 48 52 65 70 54 58 11 52 51 69 70 60 63 Ocean View 9 42 37 61 61 58 55 10 38 40 61 61 43 51 11 38 40 54 62 48 50 Westminster 9 26 27 54 60 43 49 10 21 28 53 62 28 39 11 23 25 51 60 32 38

Reading School 99 00 99 00 Districtwide 56 59 53 54 57 60 48 51 56 58 65 65 Edison 69 63 64 62 61 64 67 60 55 66 67 73 72 Fountain Valley 63 63 58 61 68 66 66 60 63 67 71 76 Huntington Beach 59 63 55 58 57 62 49 54 59 63 66 65 Marina 59 63 57 57 63 67 53 54 63 63 72 72 Ocean View 50 49 50 48 52 54 44 47 49 52 63 64 Westminster 42 46 38 37 39 46 31 36 38 42 46 49

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Source: Huntington Beach Union High School District