SPECIAL REPORT ON SCHOOL TEST SCORES : Community News Focus : About the Tests

The Times today is publishing key scores from the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) tests, which were designed to measure students’ knowledge and abilities against objective standards. To do that, CLAS establishes six performance levels in each of the three subject areas covered by the test--reading, writing and math. Every student scores at one of those levels.

For example, students who performed at Level 1 in reading understood only single words or phrases in the assigned reading passage and were unable to take away a “coherent meaning” from what they read.

Students at the highest level, Level 6, were able to “demonstrate insight” as they wrote about the passage and showed an ability to “explore complexities in depth” and “expand on the possible meanings of a text.”

In math, students who scored at Level 1 made major mathematical errors or provided little or no explanation of how they solved problems. Exams scored at Level 6 provided clear and logical explanations of solutions and made effective use of mathematical language, diagrams and graphs.

On the writing exams, Level 1 essays were brief and disorganized and included major errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. Essays graded at Level 6 presented a complex range of ideas, supported with logical reasons and detailed answers, and were written in a distinctive style.

Exams scored at the other four levels rated between those two extremes. Students who scored at Level 3 or below, in effect, failed to demonstrate the understanding that would merit a passing grade on a conventional test.

The tests were scored by specially trained evaluators, whose work was periodically reviewed by teachers who had trained them.

The scores given to individual schools reflect the percentage of students performing at each level, in each subject. Theoretically, the best result would be for 100% of the students to achieve at Level 6. The worst would be if 100% of the students were at Level 1.

This year, the state has also released a composite score--the combined percentage of students scoring at Levels 4, 5 or 6 at each school--to make it easier to compare schools to one another.

The tests were given to students in the 4th, 8th and 10th grades.

How to Read the Scores

Find your school district under the appropriate grade level. The districts are listed alphabetically. Find your school under the district name. The score recorded for each school reflects the percentage of its students scoring at Levels 4, 5 or 6--in effect, those who demonstrated at least “basic” understanding of the subject matter in the three skill areas.

An asterisk (*) indicates that a school had too few students take the test to produce a reliable score.

A double asterisk (**) indicates scores were released though less than 50% of eligible students took exams. State officials stand by the statistical validity of those scores, but some local educators question results based on so few tests.

Categories labeled “100 Comp” show the reading, writing and math scores of 100 demographically comparable California schools.

Additional Information on the Scores

California Learning Assessment System scores for individual schools, districts or the entire state may be obtained in several ways:

* On the ‘Net: Use an Internet service to contact the California Department of Education “gopher” server at “goldmine.cde.ca.gov”.

* Using a modem and a computer: Download files from the department’s computer at (916) 657-4881 or (916) 657-5371. CLAS files can be found from the main menu with the following commands: type F, for file menu; type L, for list of available files and type 7 to select the CLAS file area. The files are in a compressed format and may be viewed only when downloaded and decompressed.

* Locally: Scores are available from your local school district.

Grade 8

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Statewide 39 46 23 -- -- -- Orange County 51 57 34 -- -- --

Anaheim Union High

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 40 45 23 -- -- -- Ball Junior High 39 46 23 34 42 18 Brookhurst Junior High 36 40 25 32 42 17 Dale Junior High 37 46 15 31 41 17 Lexington Junior High 50 48 35 49 58 32 Orangeview Junior High 41 50 17 31 41 17 South Junior High 31 28 13 29 37 14 Sycamore Junior High 34 40 12 26 33 12 Walker Junior High 54 62 44 46 55 28

Brea Olinda Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 73 76 45 -- -- -- Brea Junior High 73 76 45 50 59 34

Buena Park Elementary

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 34 46 16 -- -- -- Buena Park Junior High 34 46 16 33 42 17

Capistrano Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 57 64 47 -- -- -- Aliso Viejo Middle 51 70 45 55 62 38 Forster Junior High 61 68 50 54 61 38 Newhart 55 61 51 53 61 37 Niguel Hills Junior 62 70 55 61 68 45 Shorecliffs Junior High 56 57 35 46 55 29

Fountain Valley Elementary

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 64 70 40 -- -- -- Fulton 69 72 48 58 64 40 Masuda Middle 68 76 45 58 64 41 Moiola Elementary 83 84 45 55 60 38 Talbert 52 59 26 48 55 31

Fullerton Elementary School board voted not to administer CLAS test.

Garden Grove Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 45 47 26 -- -- -- Alamitos Intermediate 40 50 17 30 40 16 Bell Intermediate 55 63 36 50 59 34 Doig Intermediate 39 41 19 26 34 11 Fitz Intermediate 40 45 23 28 37 13 Irvine Intermediate 45 49 24 28 37 14 Jordan Intermediate 45 44 32 29 38 15 McGarvin Intermediate 54 37 42 35 44 18 Ralston 50 47 25 39 48 22 Walton Intermediate 36 44 19 34 43 18

Huntington Beach City

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 53 61 51 -- -- -- Dwyer Middle 45 45 35 51 57 33 Sowers Middle 58 72 62 52 61 36

Irvine Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 63 65 47 -- -- -- Lakeside Middle 75 73 46 64 70 49 Rancho San Joaquin Inter. 60 69 48 64 70 47 Sierra Vista Middle 51 55 47 64 70 48 Venado Middle 62 59 45 59 65 43 Vista Verde Elementary 92 97 68 68 72 52

Laguna Beach Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 68 74 51 -- -- -- Thurston Middle 68 74 51 65 70 49

La Habra City Elementary

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 35 67 25 -- -- -- Imperial Middle 25 71 26 33 41 16 Washington Middle 48 63 23 40 48 22

Los Alamitos Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 56 74 41 -- -- -- McAuliffe 56 74 41 51 58 34

Newport-Mesa Unified Too few students took the test to produce reliable scores.

Ocean View Elementary

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 43 55 28 -- -- -- Marine View Elementary 51 60 36 51 58 33 Mesa View Elementary 47 64 27 55 60 37 Spring View Elementary 36 52 18 44 51 26 Vista View Elementary 36 42 31 48 55 30

Orange Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide * * * -- -- -- Cerro Villa Junior High * * * 48 57 32 El Rancho Junior High * * * 60 66 44 Portola Junior High * * * 29 38 14 Santiago Junior High 51 64 19 47 55 29 Yorba Junior High * * * 39 48 22

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified

Scores not expected until late May.

Santa Ana Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide** 45 58 24 -- -- -- Carr Intermediate** 21 38 0 25 32 10 Lathrop Intermediate** 39 38 19 23 30 10 MacArthur** 74 94 50 42 50 26 McFadden Intermediate** 57 60 29 28 35 14 Sierra Intermediate** 45 58 22 24 31 10 Spurgeon Intermediate** 17 45 23 26 33 11 Willard Intermediate** 41 53 11 27 33 12

Saddleback Valley

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 64 72 45 -- -- -- La Paz Intermediate 71 80 53 57 64 41 Los Alisos Intermediate 58 75 36 54 61 37 Rancho Santa Margarita 62 71 43 51 59 35 Serrano Intermediate * * * 46 55 30

Tustin Unified

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 56 60 30 -- -- -- Columbus Tustin Middle * * * 44 52 27 Currie Middle 45 45 20 39 47 23 Hewes Middle 76 83 52 60 66 44

Westminster Elementary

Results 100 Comp. R% W% M% R% W% M% Districtwide 44 56 21 -- -- -- Johnson Middle 35 50 18 28 37 14 Stacey Intermediate 45 48 22 41 48 24 Warner Middle 50 71 22 29 37 14