School test scores continue upward trend

Test scores are up for the third straight year in the Healdsburg
Unified School District, a trend school leaders believe shows
changes in curriculum are working.
Monday’s Advanced Performance Index (API) release by the state
of California showed big gains in standardized test scores for
Healdsburg Elementary School and Healdsburg Junior High and modest
gains at Healdsburg High School. All three schools are nearing the
state’s API goal of 800—HES scored 764, HJH 775 and HHS 776—after
three straight years of growth.
“This three-year pattern is the strongest improvement I’ve ever
seen in any of the school districts I’ve worked at,” said district
superintendent Jeff Harding. “The real credit here goes to the
classroom teachers and to the instructional assistants.”
Curriculum director Annie Millar compiled a detailed report on
the district’s three-year progress, showing big gains at the
district’s three schools and amongst specific groups of students.
In the past three years the district has improved 51 points
overall, Hispanic/Latino students have improved 82 points, English
Language Learners have improved 98 points and economically
disadvantaged students have improved 92 points.
The report also shows the disparity in scores between white
students and the lower scoring groups—a difference seen in
districts throughout the entire state. White students averaged a
score of 848 on the API last year—well above the state’s target of
800—while Hispanic/Latino students scored 713, English Language
Learners score 696 and economically disadvantaged students scored
712.
While the gap is still evident, progress at bridging that gap
continues year-to-year. Hispanic/Latino students, English Language
Learners and economically disadvantaged students have shown the
biggest improvements of any group in the past three years, a trend
school officials hope will continue this year. “What we see here
are not only are white students improving, but are English Language
Learners are improving as well,” said Harding. “They’re learning
English.”
Millar and Harding credit many factors to the district’s
improving scores: dedicated educators, text book adoptions and
increased teacher collaboration time. “Our dedicated community and
hard work of the staff is a constant through the good times and the
bad,” said Millar. “We have some momentum now and that will
continue.”
Officials at smaller school districts throughout the Healdsburg
area also had reason to celebrate this week.
Alexander Valley Elementary School garnered the highest score of
all Healdsburg area schools, improving 45 points to 894.
Superintendent Bob Raines said the score was welcome news after a
year of hard work. “We popped some sparkling fruit juice in the
staff room,” he said with a laugh. “Everybody felt really good
about it.”
Raines credited his entire teaching staff and a dedicated
parents group for the school’s ongoing success in standardized
testing. “We’re really fortunate to have a parent group that works
their tails off to help us keep the enrichment programs happening,”
he said.
West Side Elementary School posted one of the highest gains in
the county, improving 65 points to finish at 821. Superintendent
Rhonda Bellmer said the West Side community is pleased by the
results but cautioned against reading too much into them.
Last year West Side fell 46 points in the API—falling from 802
in 2008 to 756 in 2009. This year’s 65-point increase sent the
school skyrocketing past the target 800 score to 821, leaving
Bellmer wondering if the school’s 2009 score was an aberration. She
points to her school’s small number of students and the impacts
just a few students can have to the scoring system.
“When the numbers are so small slight shifts and changes in
population can have a greater effect than people realize,” she
said. “I look forward to a system that measures individual
student’s growth over time.”
The Geyserville Unified School District saw small improvements
at its middle and high school and a small decrease at the
elementary school. The middle school improved two points to 790,
and the high school improved three to 733.
Geyserville Elementary School, on the area’s biggest success
stories in 2009, fell 12 points from 834 to 822. District
superintendent Joe Carnation said the school’s ability to stay
above the state’s targeted score of 800—a feat it accomplished for
the first time last year—was encouraging. “We’re pleased to get an
822,” he said. “We had a big jump last year, and it’s tough to
maintain.”
He credited the school’s staff dedication to English Language
Learners and efforts to unify the curriculum. “We’ve worked pretty
rigorously and it seems to have paid off,” he said.