September 6, 2006

Campbell scores soar on STAR tests

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

The continued success of Campbell schools is reflected through their stellar 2006 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) scores, recently released by the California Department of Education.

Campbell’s elementary, middle and high schools scores continued to increase, demonstrating growth from 2005 to 2006, with Capri Elementary School and Village School making great strides in both English-language arts and mathematics.

According to California State Standards, every student must reach the proficient or advanced level of learning. In this respect, Campbell schools are continuing to increase their percentile growth of successful students. According to the Campbell Union Elementary School District, this year 51.9 percent of students met the state standards in mathematics, with a one-year gain of 3.7 percent, while 51 percent made the grade in English-language arts, showing a 2.6 percent increase.

According to STAR testing results, many Campbell Schools achieved gains of 10 points or higher in the percentage of students--by grade--who achieved proficient and advanced status in 2006. These include: Capri Elementary School, Castlemont Elementary School, Marshall Lane Elementary School, Rosemary Elementary School, Village School, Campbell Middle School, Monroe Middle School, Branham High School and Del Mar High School.

Johanna VanderMolen, superintendent of Campbell Union Elementary School District, is pleased with the results of the STAR testing. “We have increased in both English and math across the board,” she says, “from GATE to disadvantaged and ESL students. It’s really great.”

VanderMolen appreciates the gains Campbell Middle School has made these last few years. “They started a little lower,” she says, “but every year, they have progressed very nicely.” She is also pleased by the increased percentage of students meeting state standards at Forest Hill and Rosemary Elementary Schools, as well as Village School’s success. “All of these elementary schools have moved forward in both math and language arts,” she says. “It’s incredible what they have accomplished this year.” She believes that the API scores will also be impressive.

VanderMolen credits the schools’ tightening focus on teaching standards as one key to their success. “It’s focusing in on the standards, pinpointing what has to be taught and how kids learn,” she says. “And I have to say, we have an exceptional teaching staff at Campbell Union schools. We pride ourselves on hiring the best and the brightest and you can see why.”

In the Campbell Elementary School District, many schools showed impressive growth by grade level. At Capri Elementary School, an additional 12 percent of its second graders reached proficient and advanced status in English-language arts. Capri’s fourth graders showed tremendous growth in both subjects, with a 14 percent increase in English-language arts and 21 percent in mathematics. At Castlemont, second grade students increased their percentage of proficient and advanced English-language art students by 14 percent. Marshall Lane made gains of 11 percent in English-language arts of proficient and advanced third grade students. Rosemary Elementary School experienced similar growth, gaining 13 percent of proficient and advanced third graders in English-language arts.

At Capri, Principal Nancy Atkinson is proud of the students, teachers and parents’ accomplishments. They have transitioned well through their merger two years ago with Hazelwood Elementary School, becoming a cohesive unit.
“Both [school] staffs had very talented and dedicated teachers,” notes Atkinson, “so at Capri, we have quality teachers who are committed to the students.”

Through the process, the staff focused on team organization by grade level and shared discussions on how to best serve the students. “We have become a united community,” says Atkinson, who also appreciates the support the school receives from dedicated parents. “The parents are also very committed to making this merger work,” she says, “and volunteer their time.”

Another key to Capri’s success is its programs, like Avenues, the school has created to deliver services to its English-language learners who make up about a third of its student body. Atkinson credits these programs, as well as differentiated instruction and the assistance of active parent volunteers with improving Capri’s scores in the STAR testing. “I am proud,” she says, “and feel that we can make a difference. We are dedicated to helping every child succeed.”

However, it is Village School that was the district’s superstar, making impressive gains in the percentage of proficient and advanced students in both English-language arts and mathematics. Village School’s second and fifth graders especially scored well. Second graders showed an increase of 22 percent in the proficient and advanced range in English-language arts and a 10 percent gain in mathematics. Fifth graders increased 11 percent in English-language arts with an impressive growth of 40 percent of students achieving proficient and advanced status in mathematics in 2006.

Village School Principal Katie Middlebrook believes the student’s success is due in part to the collaboration of the teachers and their employing practices to stay focused on the standards. In addition, because they are a parent participation school, they are able to provide small group work as well as programs for the whole child like music
and art.

“I think that the atmosphere here, working with children at their own individual level is also crucial to their success,” said Middlebrook. Village School keeps students interested in their subjects by making them project-based, hands-on and experiential. Regular field trips linked to the standards and core curriculum supplement learning, building a sense of community and engaging their imaginations. The students learning environment, well being and sense of self-esteem is considered in developing teaching strategies.

“We try to create an audience for everything we do, including community activities and poetry readings which bring out their creative spirit,” says Middlebrook. Village School also scored high on their API tests, jumping from 832 in 2005 to 860 this year.

Although 11 years old, last year was Village School’s first at being recognized as an official state school. It previously was an alternative program. Located at Capri Elementary School, the school doubled in size in three years. “It’s so exciting seeing the whole community pulling together,” says Middlebrook. “It’s an amazing little school.”

Campbell Middle School’s fifth graders also performed well in mathematics, experiencing a 15 percent gain in the percentage of students reaching proficient or advanced levels. Monroe Middle School’s fifth graders also performed well in mathematics, showing a growth of eighteen percent.

In the Campbell Union High District, Branham High School’s ninth graders increased their number of proficient and advanced math students by 11 percent and Del Mar High School’s tenth graders did well in English-language arts, showing a 10 percent gain.

“This year, our students did better than they did the year before on the STAR tests in more than half the tests,” says Terry Peluso, Campbell Union High School District’s Director of Assesment, Technology and Student Services. “In others, they didn’t improve, and in a few cases went down, but not very far.”

The Campbell Union High School District is working to improve their STAR test and California High School Exit Exam scores by qualifying more students for academically powerful classes such as advanced placement classes. “We have to get more students into the classes that build the skills for them to become successful,” he says.

Peluso believes that this approach will also lead to an improvement in test scores. “We now have more students involved in more sections of advanced placement classes than ever before,” he notes.

The district is also providing students who require additional assistance with an opportunity for success. “We’re also looking at the students who have academic skills that are weaker than they should be and trying to build those skills,” says Peluso. Rather than placing challenged students in pre-algebra, they place them in the algebra class, as well as support courses, giving them a chance to catch up, rather than leaving them behind.

“Students who get off that track might never get back on,” notes Peluso. “By improving students skills, and motivating them to aim higher and perform more powerfully academically, we hope to improve their test scores and even more important, their learning.”

According to the STAR results, California students remain on a steady trajectory of improved school achievement. In fact, 42 percent of students statewide scored at the proficient or advanced level in English-language arts, with 40 percent scoring at the proficient or advanced level in mathematics. Both of these scores reflect a 2 percent increase from 2005.

“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,” says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. “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.”

O’Connell applauds the performance of the state’s teachers and students on this year’s STAR tests. “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,” he said. “This improvement deserves recognition and celebration.”

For more information, visit online: http://star.cde.ca.gov.

Navigating the California Standards Test results Mean Scale Scores by Grade and Subject: After locating your student’s school, follow a particular subject, such as Math 4, across the chart. Following the subject is a listing of the mean score for that grade in 2005, followed by the 2006 score, the numerical difference between these scores and the percentile change between them. A notation of “EOC,” such as “Algebra 1 EOC,” refers to a combined score reflecting every student in that school who took that exam.