A majority of students in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) is performing at or near the State’s new standards, according to data released this week by the California Department of Education.
First-year data on new state tests showed 68 percent of LBUSD students exceeding, meeting or nearly meeting English language arts standards.
In math, 63 percent of students exceeded, met or nearly met standards.
Because 2015 is the first year of the new tests and because they are substantially different from their predecessors, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results will serve as a baseline from which to measure future progress and should not be compared to results from the State’s previous assessments, the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, according to LBUSD.
“This year’s results will set a new baseline for progress that students will make in the coming years,” LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser said. “We’re encouraged that a majority of our students is performing at or near California’s newer, higher standards. We will use these results and other sources of data as we work to improve student achievement, ultimately preparing more students for success in college and careers.”
Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said that, although the news is good, the results show areas that still need to be addressed.
“It is encouraging seeing so many of our students meeting or exceeding the new standards and being able to navigate a new test, O’Donnell said. However, these test results reflect that there are still too many low-income and English language learners students struggling to keep up. Our first priority is to address this achievement gap.
“California has more work to do, and we must start now. This test provides us with a good baseline by which to judge our future efforts. Education is a top priority for Californians, and as a teacher, it remains mine.”
CAASPP includes a number of assessments, but the most widely given are the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, which evaluate student progress on the California standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy, often referred to as the Common Core.
CAASPP focuses on assessing crucial abilities, such as analyzing problems, thinking independently and writing clearly with evidence, according to LBUSD.
The four levels of achievement on the California exams in English and math are: standard exceeded, standard met, standard nearly met or standard not met.
