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STAR test shows mixed performance for schools

By Natalie Ragus/Staff Writer

Lucia Mar Unified School District students had a mixed performance on state standardized tests in English, math, science and history, according to the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results released Thursday.

Fifth-, eighth- and 10th-graders made huge strides in general science, while the science scores fell for high school students taking biology, physics and chemistry.

Student scores in math and English did not budge from the prior year, and as a whole, the district’s biggest gain was in history.

The tests are a critical component when the state measures the progress of its students.

Under the STAR program, students’ scores on their California Standardized Tests (CST) are assigned one of five proficiency levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic.

The state’s ultimate goal is for all California students to reach the proficient or advanced level for every subject tested, in order to meet state growth targets and federal No Child Left Behind requirements, according to the California Department of Education.

In San Luis Obispo County, 54.7 percent of students were proficient or advanced in English/language arts, 45.3 percent in history, 48.9 percent in math, and 57.8 percent in science.

Lucia Mar held its own against state and county averages.

In English, 52.3 percent of students tested proficient or advanced, the same as last year.

Lucia Mar students’ progress in math also stayed put: In both 2007 and 2008, 49.9 percent of students tested proficient or advanced.

However, history scores rose nearly 7 percent, from 40.5 percent of students testing proficient or advanced in 2007 to 47 percent in 2008.

Fifth-, eighth-, and 10th-grade science scores showed a meteoric rise, with 55.7 percent of students testing proficient or advanced, up from 46 percent last year.

Conversely, scores in high school science — biology, chemistry and physics — fell 2.2 percentage points, from 42.7 percent in 2007 to 40.5 percent in 2008.

nragus@timespressrecorder.com