STAR results are in, progress is slow but steady

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, new Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, Lynn Fitzpatrick, rolled out the STAR test results for the 2009-2010 school year. Overall the progress has been steady in both English Language Arts and math, albeit at a very slow rate.

“We’re seeing significant growth in fifth, eighth and ninth grades with all grades progressing steadily in English Language Arts. Specifically, if you break out Hispanic students, you’ll notice that this group met or exceeded the federal target in eight out of nine grades. This means that our Hispanic students are achieving at a higher rate, helping to close our achievement gap,” said Fitzpatrick.

In math, the district saw positive gains in five out of six grades with the strongest improvements in third and fourth grades. Perhaps as important, the district realized significant decreases in two categories: Far Below Basic and Below Basic. California uses a complicated mathematical algorithm called the Academic Performance Index to assess progress. Movement out of both FBB and BB categories is weighted more heavily than movement from Basic to Proficient or Proficient to Advanced as the underlying assumption is that moving students from FBB or BB towards proficiency is more challenging and time sensitive.

“This is really good news as it demonstrates that we are helping these students to build a solid mathematical foundation,” said Fitzpatrick.

According to Fitzpatrick the district’s goal is to get all students into and succeeding in Algebra by the ninth grade. Calling Algebra a “gatekeeper” for college, Fitzpatrick said that the district plans to ramp up math in kindergarten through fifth grade so that students in grades six, seven and eight can be offered either Algebra readiness or Algebra.

“Three years ago, only three percent of seventh and eighth graders were in Algebra. Last year that increased to nine percent so the push at the middle school level is on and we’re moving in the right direction,” said Fitzpatrick.

Algebra ties into the ongoing goal of college and career readiness for all students. If students take and pass Algebra in ninth grade, the natural progression is for them to take Geometry in 10th grade and Algebra II in 11th grade. This applies to science as well and the district is pushing for higher math and science courses for all students as well.

“Colleges want biology, chemistry and physics. Students need to tackle these classes.”

One tool to gauge student readiness is the Early Assessment Program, an exam taken voluntarily by 11th grade students. The district would like to see all students take advantage of this test as it gives early feedback on college readiness. Programs can subsequently be designed to help students bridge any gaps as they enter 12th grade.

“Our plan of action is to continue to work toward best instructional practices for students in all grades, kindergarten through 12th,” said Fitzpatrick. “No one in education desires mediocrity and we’re working hard to develop our sense of what excellent teaching looks like using test results like these as our guide.”