GLENDALE/SAN FRANCISCO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released results of the 2006 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program that show California students remain on a steady trajectory of improved student achievement.

Forty-two percent of students statewide scored at the proficient or advanced level in English-language arts, an increase of 2 percentage points over last year, and 40 percent of students scored at the proficient or advanced level in mathematics, an increase of 2 percentage points over last year.

Since 2003 when all state tests were completely aligned to state standards for the first time, the number of California students who scored proficient and above in English-language arts has grown by 7 percentage points, and the number of students who scored proficient or above in mathematics grew by 5 percentage points. 

"I am extremely pleased that these results show that California’s public school students continue to make steady gains in nearly every subject and grade level," O’Connell said. "Since our state adopted rigorous standards for what every student should learn in every grade, and began systematically integrating those standards into classroom materials and instruction, student achievement has continued to improve.

"While movement from year to year is certainly worth noting and analyzing, the real test of sustainable academic achievement is steady gains over multiple years. At this point in California’s transition to a standards-based assessment system, it is worth stopping and taking note of our struggles and success. It is now clear that after almost 10 years of standards based reform, including four years of complete alignment between our standards and our tests, education in California is clearly making meaningful, sustained improvement. There is no doubt we still have a lot of work to do, and no one should be satisfied with our current position, but reforming an entire education system is slow, difficult work. Yet thanks to the hard work of our students, teachers, and administrators, more students than ever before are being prepared with skills and knowledge essential to their future success in our competitive global economy. This improvement deserves recognition and celebration."

Noteworthy gains were made this year in many areas, including mathematics, where 23 percent of students statewide scored at the proficient and advanced level in Algebra 1, an increase of 4 percentage points over last year. In addition, 25,714 more students took Algebra I in 2006 than in 2005. Second through fourth graders also made steady gains in math with scores ranging from 54 to 59 percent at proficient and above. The greatest gains in English-language arts came in grade two, where 47 percent of students scored at the proficient and advanced levels, and in grade three, where 36 percent scored at that level – marking a 5 percentage points increase over last year for each grade.

Each ethnic and socioeconomic subgroup of students has also shown steady improvement over the four years since the tests became standards-aligned. However, the achievement gap persists between African American students, Latino students, or socioeconomically disadvantaged students and their white or Asian peers.

"I remain deeply concerned that the achievement gap continues to be unacceptably wide," O’Connell said. "The academic achievement of our Latino, African American, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students lags far behind the rest of their peers. We are working to address this problem by providing struggling schools extra resources and additional interventions, and with better training for teachers. But clearly, we must work harder, faster, and with more focus to narrow this gap and to permanently close it. This will be my top priority as I start my second term as Superintendent."

O’Connell noted that the 2006-07 state budget allocates additional resources for education, including teacher professional development, counselors, and supplemental instruction and support for students struggling to pass the state’s high school exit exam.

More than 4.7 million students in 2006 participated in the STAR program, which is comprised of four components: California Standards Tests (CSTs), California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), California Achievement Tests (CAT/6), and the new Aprenda: La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3)—a national norm-referenced test in Spanish that replaced the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, 2nd Edition (SABE/2).

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. This goal is consistent with school growth targets for state accountability and the federal No Child Left Behind requirements. 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 September. Final results after local corrections are incorporated are scheduled for posting during December.

School, school district, county, and state level results for the 2006 STAR Program have been posted on the California Department of Education’s Web site at http://star.cde.ca.gov/.

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Attachments

Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program
California Standards Test Results

Table 1: English-Language Arts, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

*Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 2: Mathematics, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

*Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 3: Mathematics Tests, 2003-2006
Number of Students Tested Grades 8 - 11

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Table 4: Grade 5, 8, and 10 Science*, 2004-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient**

*The Grade 5 California Science Standards Test was first administered in spring 2004. The Grade 8 California Science Standards and the Grade 10 California Life Science Standards Tests were first administered during spring 2006.

**The grade 5 data for 2004 and 2005 are final statewide data. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in the state. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 5: Science — End-of-Course, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

*Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in the state. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 6: Science Tests, 2003-2006
Number of Students Tested with End-of-Course Science Tests

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Table 7: History-Social Science, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

*Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 8: English-Language Arts, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at Proficient and Above by Subgroup

* The percentages for Students Receiving Special Education Services do not include the results for students who were administered the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA). Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 9: Mathematics, 2003-2006
Percentage of Students Scoring at Proficient and Above by Subgroup

*The percentages for Students Receiving Special Education Services do not include the results for students who were administered the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA). Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 10: English-Language Arts, 2003-2006
California Standards Test Results for Selected School Districts
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

*Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Table 11: Mathematics, 2003-2006
California Standards Test Results for Selected School Districts
Percentage of Students Scoring at and Above Proficient*

Data for 2003 through 2005 are final statewide results. The 2006 data are preliminary and include results for approximately 99% of the students in grades two through eleven. Complete results will be available during September 2006. Percentages included in this table may differ from the percentages printed on the Internet reports due to rounding.

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Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program
Summary of 2006 Results

Background

• In 1997, the governor signed legislation that authorized the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. The law initially required testing all students in grades two through eleven in English-language arts and mathematics, grades two through eight in spelling, and grades nine through eleven in science and history-social science.
• In 1998, the state administered the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (Stanford 9), a national norm-referenced test, to students in grades two through eleven.
• In 1999, the Stanford 9 was augmented with questions written specifically to measure students’ achievement of the California standards in English-language arts and mathematics.
• In 2003, all of the California Standards Tests (CSTs) were separated from the Stanford 9 and included only questions written specifically for California’s content standards.
• The 2006 STAR Program included four components:
• The California Standards Tests (CSTs)
• The California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA) administered to students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades two through eleven
• The California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey)—a national norm-referenced test administered to students in grades three and seven
• The Aprenda: La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3)—a national norm-referenced test in Spanish that was administered to Spanish-speaking English learners who had been in school in the United States fewer than 12 months when tested or who were receiving instruction in Spanish regardless of how long they had been in school in the United States. The students were required to take the Aprenda 3 in addition to taking the CSTs and CAT/6 Survey.
• New changes in spring 2006: two new science tests in grades 8 and 10 were administered. The Aprenda 3 replaced the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2) that was administered between 1999 and 2005.
• In spring 2006, the following CSTs were required for all students:
• English-language arts: Grades 2 – 11
• Mathematics: Grades 2 – 9
• Science: Grades 5, 8, and 10 (life science)
• History-Social Science: Grades 8, 10 (world history) and 1 (U.S. history)
• In addition to the tests required for all students, students in grades ten and eleven could take math tests based on course completion. Tests were offered in general mathematics (limited to students in grades eight and nine), Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, integrated mathematics 1, 2, and 3, and summative high school mathematics.
• Students in grades nine through eleven also took science tests based on course completion. Tests were offered in biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and integrated/coordinated science 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Reporting CST Results

• The CST results are reported using five performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic.
• The percent of students scoring at each performance level is reported by grade and subject for all students, as well as for subgroups of students. Results for school, school district, county, and state level results for the 2006 STAR Program have been posted on the California Department of Education’s Web site at http://star.cde.ca.gov.
• The state target is to have all students score at the proficient or above levels.

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Summary of CST Results

English-Language Arts (ELA)

• The greatest gains for ELA were in grades two and three. Forty-seven percent of students scored at the proficient and advanced levels in grade two and 36 percent scored at the proficient and advanced levels in grade three. Each grade showed an increase of 5 percent over last year.
• Students in grades two through eleven scoring at the proficient and advanced levels increased by 7 percent between 2003 and 2006 and by 2 percent from last year.
• Students scoring at the proficient and advanced levels increased for all subgroups from last year.
• The greatest increases between 2003 and 2005 were for the Filipino, and fluent-English proficient groups where 10 percent more students scored proficient and advanced in 2006 than in 2003. These were followed by the economically disadvantaged subgroup with an increase of 7 percent.

Mathematics

• Approximately 1.7 million students in grades eight to eleven took CSTs in mathematics based on course completion.
• Fifty-nine percent of grade two students, 57 percent of grade three students, and 54 percent of grade four students scored at the proficient and advanced levels.
• Algebra I, geometry, and Algebra II increased continuing a trend from 2003 to 2006 and the percent of students taking general mathematics and integrated mathematics decreased.
• The number of students increased for Algebra I by 25,714, for geometry by 26,654, and for Algebra II by 17,742.

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Science

• Approximately, 1.1 million students in grades nine to eleven took CSTs in science based on course completion in 2006.
• Between 2003 and 2006, the number of students taking CSTs in science based on course completion increased by approximately 66 percent (373,000) with the greatest increases in biology (approximately 164,000) and Earth science (approximately 106,000).
• Approximately, 128,000 students took Integrated Coordinated Science (1, 2, 3, and 4) CSTs in 2006 which was a decrease of approximately 8,700 students from last year.
• Students scoring at the proficient and above levels on the biology CST increased by 3 percent from last year.
• Students scoring at the proficient and above levels on the grade five CST continues to grow with an increase of 4 percent from last year. 

History-Social Science

• Thirty-four percent of grade eight students scored at the proficient or above levels, a 3-percent increase from last year and a 7-percent increase from 2003.
• Thirty percent of grade ten (world history) students scored at the proficient or above levels, a 3-percent increase from 2003.
• Thirty-five percent of grade 11 (U.S. history) students scored at the proficient or above levels, a 1-percent increase since 2003.

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