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Saratoga Elementary STAR test results come in strong
By Jason Baker
For the second year in a row, standardized test results for Saratoga Union School District students far exceed those of average students nationwide.
Results from the spring 1999 Standard Testing and Reporting (STAR) program show SUSD students scored well above average in all aspects of the test. The range of students scoring at or above the 50th percentile was 80 percent to 98 percent. In 1998, the range of students scoring at or above the 50th percentile was 78 percent to 95 percent.
The national percentile rank indicates the relative standing of a student in comparison with other students in the same grade who took the test at a comparable time. Percentile ranks range from a low of one to a high of 99, with 50 denoting average performance for that grade. Changes of less than five to seven percentage points in either direction are usually not considered significant.
State legislators created the STAR program in 1998. Each spring, SUSD students in second through eighth grade are given the test, which covers reading, mathematics, language, spelling, science and social science. The STAR test is the state's first achievement test comparing how well students in California perform against other students in the country. This spring marked the second year of testing.
Superintendent Mary Gardner said the consistently high scores are a result of several factors. "The students come from families with a lot of support to perform well. And our instruction is strong in the basic skills areas that are tested," Gardner said. "The scores end up validating our curriculum. They have marginal use, but we are careful not to pin the real effectiveness of our instruction only on test scores.
"Our problem is as high as we score, it's difficult to make huge gains. Only a very small percentage of our students are not scoring above the 50th percentile. The fact that we do well is affirming. As a result, we look at what else we can do to make this a more enriched and rewarding educational experience."
Gardner said administrators evaluate individual test scores, particularly those of special-needs students, to help evaluate their readiness for integration into mainstream classes. "We look at the scores in relation to other districts like us to see if there are any areas where we are out of sync," she said.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
