Release: # 05-86
August 15, 2005

Contact: Pam Slater
E-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov
Phone: 916-319-0818

California Accountability System Working; Students Making Steady Progress

LOS ANGELES — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released results of the 2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program that show California's public school students are making widespread gains in nearly every subject and grade level tested.

Forty percent of students statewide scored at the proficient or advanced level in English-language arts, an increase of 5 percent over last year, while 38 percent of students scored at the proficient or advanced level in mathematics, an increase of 4 percent over last year. Since 2001, California students have improved by 9 percent in English-language arts and 6 percent in mathematics.

"With five years of data, we can now see a clear trend of student gains in nearly every subject and every grade," O'Connell said. "This impressive gain in student achievement can be traced back to the implementation of our comprehensive standards-based educational system. Since California adopted rigorous standards of what every child should know and be able to do and systematically integrated those standards into the classroom, our schools have made steady improvement."

Beginning in 1997, California began putting into place a comprehensive standards-based educational system for all students. The reforms include world-class standards, tests aligned to those standards, and a system of accountability to ensure that students are learning to those high expectations. Schools are now using standards-aligned textbooks, professional development is provided for teachers and principals to assist them in teaching the standards, and there are interventions at the lowest performing schools.

Results for 2005 California Standards Tests (CSTs), which were taken by more than 4.8 million students in grades two through eleven last spring, show increases over 2004 in all subject areas and grade levels tested with a few exceptions.

"I am particularly pleased with the improvement seen in our high school scores," O'Connell said. "After years of stagnation, our high schools are making some positive progress," O’Connell said. "In addition to showing improvement on our standards-aligned tests, greater numbers of high school students are taking more college preparatory mathematics and science courses like algebra, geometry, chemistry and physics."

Achievement of all subgroups in grades two through eleven show similar increases as the rest of the state from 2001 to 2005 in English-language arts and mathematics. However, students in some subgroups, including English-language learners, students receiving special education services, Hispanic/Latinos, and African Americans, continue to lag too far behind the state as a whole. The achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and non-economically disadvantaged students, however, has closed by 4 percent since 2001.

"While the consistent growth of our subgroups across all measures should be celebrated, I am seriously concerned that our achievement gap remains unacceptably wide," said O’Connell. "Of particular concern are the overall results of our African-American and Hispanic/Latino students, as well as our English learners and special education students. While they have made impressive gains, we must seek extraordinary progress for those students in order to close the achievement gap that persists for all groups.

"The fact that more than half of our students have not yet achieved proficiency on the state’s content standards and a wide achievement gap continues shows how much work still needs to be done," O’Connell continued. "We have extremely high expectations for all of our students. We need to keep that focus and maintain our commitment to high standards; and while we should examine ways to increase achievement gains for all students, we need to place a specific focus on our lowest performing schools. We also need to reinvest in critical programs such as improved teacher training, extra assistance to low-performing schools and programs for students at risk of falling behind. Such investment and high expectations are critical for success for all students in our global economy," O'Connell said.

Students attain one of five levels of performance on the CSTs for each subject tested: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic. The State Board of Education has established the proficient level as the desired achievement goal for all students. While this goal is consistent with school growth targets for state accountability and the new federal NCLB requirements, California’s proficiency level is higher than almost all other states.

All students in grades two through eleven in California public schools participate in the STAR Program, which also includes national norm-referenced tests, the California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey), that measure general knowledge and skills in reading, language, spelling, and mathematics. Beginning in 2005, the CAT/6 Survey was given to students in grades three and seven only. Results showed across-the-board increases over 2004 in all subject areas tested. CAT/6 Survey scores are used to make comparisons with scores of national samples of students tested in grades three and seven.

The STAR Program data released today is preliminary because a small number of school districts have not yet completed testing and have not yet had time to complete a review of the results to verify their accuracy. A second posting of preliminary results that will include all students tested is scheduled for October. Final results after local corrections are incorporated are scheduled for posting during December.

School, school district, county, and state level results for the 2005 STAR Program have been posted on the California Standardized Testing And Reporting (STAR) Program.

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Attachment

2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program
Summary of Results

Background

• In 1997, Senate Bill 376 authorized the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program for English-language arts and mathematics in grades two through eleven and in history-social science and science in grades nine through eleven. The State Board of Education (SBE) designated the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (Stanford 9) for use in the STAR Program.
• In 1998, the Stanford 9 was administered.
• In 1999, the Stanford 9 was augmented with California Standards Test (CST) questions for English-language arts and mathematics. The CSTs are designed to assess the achievement of students in California public schools on the state content standards that specify what students are to learn in each grade level and subject area.
• In 2001, CSTs in history-social science and science for grades nine through eleven were added to the STAR Program. The CSTs in English-language arts for grades four and seven were expanded to include a writing assessment.
• In 2003, the CSTs in English-language arts for grades two through eleven and the CSTs in mathematics for grades two through seven were separated from the Stanford 9 and became stand-alone tests. The CST in history-social science for grade nine was moved to grade eight. The content of this test was changed from assessing the history-social science content standards for grades four through eight to assessing the content standards for grades six through eight.
• In 2004, a CST in science for grade five that assesses the science content standards for grades four and five was added to the STAR Program.
• In 2005, two science tests required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 were field-tested. The grade eight test assesses content standards for grade eight, and the grade ten test assesses selected middle school life science and high school biology content standards.

Reporting CST Results

• The CST results are reported using five performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic.
• The percentage of students scoring at each performance level is reported by grade level and subject area.
• The state target is to have all students score at the proficient or above levels.

Summary of CST Results

English-Language Arts

• The 2005 results showed increases over 2004 in the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above in grades two through eleven.
• The greatest gain for the two-year comparison (2004 and 2005) in the elementary and middle grades was in grade four with an increase of 8 percentage points, followed by grades two and seven with a 7 percentage-point increase, and grade eight with a 6 percentage-point increase.
• Increases also occurred in high school with a 6 percentage-point increase in grade nine and a 4 percentage-point increase in grade eleven.
• The percentages of all students scoring at proficient or above between 2001 and 2005 has increased for all grade levels tested.
• The greatest growth from 2001 to 2005 was in grades five and nine where there was a 15 percentage-point increase over the five-year period. Grade four followed with a 14 percentage-point gain.
• Subgroup results for 2005 showed increases in the percentages of all students scoring at proficient or above between 2004 and 2005, as well as between 2001 and 2005.
• Within the various subgroups, the greatest gains between 2001 and 2005 were exhibited for reclassified-fluent English proficient (R-FEP) students. A 10 percentage-point difference between R-FEP students and students whose first language is English (English only students) in 2001 had decreased to a 1 percentage-point difference in 2005. (Forty-eight percent of R-FEP students scored proficient or above compared to 49 percent of English only students.)

Mathematics

• Compared with 2004, the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above increased in all grade levels and courses except integrated mathematics 1. In 2005, results for this course remained the same as 2004. Results in elementary grades showed 5 or 6 percentage-point increases between 2004 and 2005.
• Between 2001 and 2005, there was an increase in the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above in grades two through seven, general mathematics, integrated mathematics 2 and 3, and summative high school mathematics.
• The number of students taking algebra I, geometry, algebra II, and summative high school mathematics increased from 2001 to 2005 and between 2004 and 2005. The number of students achieving at proficient or above also increased in these subjects, showing more students are becoming better prepared in college preparatory mathematics courses.
• In 2005, subgroup data showed:
• Increases in the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above for all subgroups.
• Forty-one percent of R-FEP students scoring at proficient or above, which is almost on par with English only students at 43 percent.
• A continuing gap between highest performing subgroups and lowest performing subgroups (2001–2005).
• The percentage of economically disadvantaged students scoring at proficient or above is increasing at a greater rate than that of non-economically disadvantaged students. The gap between these two groups of students closed by 4 percentage points between 2001 and 2005.

History-Social Science

• The CST in history-social science for grade eleven (U.S. history) showed 37 percent of students scoring at proficient or above. This is a 5 percentage-point increase since 2004 and a 6 percentage-point increase since 2001.
• The CST in history-social science for grade ten (world history) showed 31 percent of students scoring at proficient or above. This is a 4 percentage-point increase over the previous two years and a 7 percentage-point increase since 2001.
• The percentage of students scoring at proficient or above on the CST in history-social science for grade eight increased to 31 percent. This is a 4 percentage-point increase over scores in 2003 and 2004.

Science

• Between 2001 and 2005, the number of students in grades nine through eleven taking CSTs in science increased by approximately 376,000 with the greatest increase found between 2003 and 2004.
• Approximately 55,000 more students took the CST in biology in 2005. This is an increase of 14 percent over 2004.
• Twenty-eight percent of students in grade five scored at proficient or above. This is a 4 percentage-point increase over 2004.
• Between 2004 and 2005, the percentage of students scoring at proficient or above on integrated science 1 increased by 3 percentage-points.
• Between 2004 and 2005, the percentage of students scoring at proficient or above on integrated science 4 increased by 18 percentage-points.

Summary of California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey)

• The CAT/6 Survey was administered only to students in grades three and seven. The tests had previously been administered in grades two through eleven. The reduction in grade levels tested was based on legislative changes made when the STAR Program was reauthorized in 2004.
• Between 2004 and 2005, the average percentile scores for all content areas tested increased for grades three and seven.

Summary of CST Results for Selected School Districts

Between 2001 and 2005, the results for students tested in five selected school districts were analyzed for English-language arts and mathematics. The school districts are Los Angeles, Sacramento City, San Bernardino City, San Diego City, and San Francisco.

• Between 2004 and 2005, the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above increased in English-language arts and mathematics for all five school districts.
• Between 2001 and 2005, the percentages of students scoring at proficient or above increased in English-language arts and mathematics for all five school districts.

Table 1: STAR Program CST Results 2001–2005

English-Language Arts

Grade	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
2	32	32	36	35	42	10	7
3	30	34	33	30	31	1	1
4	33	36	39	39	47	14	8
5	28	31	36	40	43	15	3
6	31	31	36	36	38	7	2
7	32	33	36	36	43	11	7
8	32	32	31	33	39	7	6
9	28	33	38	37	43	15	6
10	31	33	33	35	36	5	1
11	29	31	32	32	36	7	4
Total	31	33	35	35	40	9	5

*Data for 2001 through 2004 are final state results. 2005 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99 percent of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available in October and final results in December.

Table 2: STAR Program CST Results 2001–2005

Mathematics

Test	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
Grade 2	40	43	53	51	56	16	5
Grade 3	38	38	46	48	54	16	6
Grade 4	33	37	45	45	50	17	5
Grade 5	30	29	35	38	44	14	6
Grade 6	31	32	34	35	40	9	5
Grade 7	29	30	30	33	37	8	4
General Mathematics	NA	16	20	20	22	6	2
Algebra I	21	22	21	18	19	-2	1
Geometry	30	29	26	24	26	-4	2
Algebra II	28	26	29	24	26	-2	2
Integrated Mathematics 1	10	7	7	7	7	-3	0
Integrated Mathematics 2	18	25	28	21	29	11	8
Integrated Mathematics 3	20	21	21	27	32	12	5
Summative High School Math	37	40	43	41	45	8	4
Total	32	30	35	34	38	6	4

*Data for 2001 through 2004 are final state results. 2005 Data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99 percent of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available in October and final results in December.

Table 3: STAR Program, Number of Students Taking the CSTs 2001–2005

Mathematics

Test	Number of Students Tested 2001	Number of Students Tested 2002	Number of Students Tested 2003	Number of Students Tested 2004	Number of Students Tested 2005	Change in Number 2001–2005	Change in Number 2004–2005
General Mathematics	NA	448,150	435,695	415,461	372,513	NA*	-42,948
Algebra I	366,633	422,194	491,579	613,017	680,702	314,069	67,685
Geometry	213,795	240,500	263,104	300,905	333,148	119,353	32,243
Algebra II	126,997	148,309	158,619	181,878	195,966	68,969	14,088
Integrated Mathematics 1	42,732	24,056	13,919	9,612	8,726	-34,006	-886
Integrated Mathematics 2	28,446	24,746	9,440	7,928	6,703	-21,743	-1,225
Integrated Mathematics 3	17,909	15,387	9,693	4,430	3,559	-14,350	-871
Summative High School Math	51,792	70,577	74,010	80,504	90,849	39,057	10,345
Total**	848,304	945,769	1,020,364	1,198,274	1,319,653	471,349	121,379

* The change in General Mathematics from 2002 to 2005 was a decrease of 75,637.
** Totals do not include General Mathematics that was first administered in 2002.

Table 4: STAR Program CST Results 2001–2005

History-Social Science

Grade	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
8	NA	NA	27	27	31	4**	4
10	24	24	27	27	31	7	4
11	31	31	34	32	37	6	5
Total	27	29	29	28	33	6	5

* Data for 2001 through 2004 are final state results. 2005 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99 percent of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available in October and final results in December.
** Change in percent between 2003 and 2005.

Table 5: STAR Program CST Results 2001–2005

Science

Test	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
Grade 5	NA	NA	NA	24	28		4
Earth Science	20	21	21	22	23	3	1
Biology	34	37	37	30	32	-2	2
Chemistry	28	29	31	28	27	-1	-1
Physics	30	28	29	29	31	1	2
Integrated 1	NA	NA	7	5	8	1**	3
Integrated 2	NA	NA	8	8	6	-2**	-2
Integrated 3*	NA	NA	7	8	8	1**	0
Integrated 4	NA	NA	12	8	26	14**	18
Total	30	32	29	24	27	-2	3

* Data for 2001 through 2004 are final state results. 2005 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99 percent of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available in October and final results in December.
** Change in percent between 2003 and 2005.
NOTE: Approximately 30 percent of the science tests were taken by students in grade five, an additional 30 percent of the tests were for biology, and approximately 25 percent of the tests were for earth science and chemistry.

Table 6: STAR Program, Number of Students Taking the CSTs 2001–2005

Science

Test	Number of Students Tested 2001	Number of Students Tested 2002	Number of Students Tested 2003	Number of Students Tested 2004	Number of Students Tested 2005	Change in Number 2001–2005	Change in Number 2004–2005
Grade 5 Science	---	---	---	485,806	482,626	NA	-3,180
Earth Science	69,255	80,018	89,676	134,953	173,827	104,572	38,874
Biology	269,602	288,452	334,005	397,909	453,304	183,702	55,395
Chemistry	132,908	144,930	153,491	181,420	196,663	63,755	15,243
Physics	33,123	41,759	44,878	52,586	59,295	26,172	6,709
Integrated 1	25,142	16,459	62,008	101,824	111,343	86,201	9,519
Integrated 2	49,455	38,988	25,983	24,654	20,642	-28,813	-4,012
Integrated 3	39,714	57,086	10,621	5,870	3,415	-36,299	-2,455
Integrated 4	24,808	25,468	1,515	1,601	1,040	-23,768	-561
Total*	644,007	693,160	722,177	900,817	1,019,529	375,522	118,712

* Totals do not include Grade 5 Science that was first administered in 2004.

Table 7: STAR Program CAT/6 Survey Results 2003–2005

Percent of Students Scoring At or Above the 50th National Percentile Rank
Reading

Grade	2003	2004	2005	Change
3	34	35	36	2
7	45	45	46	1

Language

Grade	2003	2004	2005	Change
3	42	43	44	2
7	41	43	45	4

Mathematics

Grade	2003	2004	2005	Change
3	52	54	55	3
7	46	48	49	3

Spelling

Grade	2003	2004	2005	Change
3	53	54	55	2
7	53	55	57	4

Table 8: STAR Program: CAT Results

Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above by Subgroups 2001–2005
English-Language Arts

Demographic Subgroup	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Female	34	36	39	40	44
Male	28	29	31	32	36
American Indian/ Alaskan Native	26	28	31	31	36
Asian	47	50	55	56	62
Pacific Islander	25	27	31	31	36
Filipino	40	44	48	50	55
Hispanic/Latino	14	16	20	21	25
African American	18	19	22	23	27
White	48	50	53	54	58
Economically Disadvantaged Students	14	16	20	21	25
Non-Economically Disadvantaged Students	45	47	49	50	56
Students Receiving Special Education Services	9	10	9	14	16
Students With No Reported Disability	33	34	38	38	43
English Only Students	39	41	44	44	49
Initially Fluent English Proficient	38	41	46	48	53
English Learner	6	8	10	10	12
Reclassified Fluent English Proficient	29	33	40	42	48

Table 9: STAR Program: CST Results

Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above by Subgroups 2001–2005
Mathematics

Demographic Subgroup	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Female	32	30	34	34	38
Male	34	32	35	35	39
American Indian/ Alaskan Native	26	25	29	28	32
Asian	54	56	60	60	65
Pacific Islander	26	26	31	31	35
Filipino	38	39	44	45	50
Hispanic/Latino	17	18	23	23	27
African American	15	16	19	19	23
White	44	43	47	46	51
Economically Disadvantaged Students	18	19	24	25	29
Non-Economically Disadvantaged Students	42	41	45	44	49
Students Receiving Special Education Services	13	13	13	16	18
Students With No Reported Disability	32	32	37	36	41
English Only Students	37	36	39	39	43
Initially Fluent English Proficient	39	40	44	45	49
English Learner	14	16	20	20	24
Reclassified Fluent English Proficient	32	32	37	37	41

Table 10: STAR Program CST Results for Selected School Districts 2001–2005

School District	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above* 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
Los Angeles Unified	18	20	23	24	27	9	3
Sacramento City Unified	26	28	31	31	36	10	5
San Bernardino City Unified	16	17	20	20	22	6	2
San Diego City Unified	31	34	36	37	42	11	5
San Francisco Unified	32	35	39	40	45	13	5
State	31	32	35	36	40	9	4

Table 11: STAR Program CST Results for Selected School Districts 2001–2005

Mathematics

District	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above 2001	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above 2002	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above 2003	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above 2004	Percent of Students Scoring At Proficient or Above 2005	Change in Percent 2001–2005	Change in Percent 2004–2005
Los Angeles Unified	17	20	26	26	29	12	3
Sacramento City Unified	30	29	32	31	35	5	4
San Bernardino City Unified	19	17	22	20	22	3	2
San Diego City Unified	25	25	29	31	37	12	6
San Francisco Unified	34	34	40	40	46	12	6
State	31	31	35	34	38	7	4