NSD and STAR Results
The headline in todays Signal gives props to the NSD!
The Newhall School District is celebrating after achieving extremely high scores on its STAR tests, which contribute to the schools’ Academic Performance Index and the Adequate Yearly Progress scores that determine the schools’ state and national rankings.
According to data released Wednesday from the California Department of Education, the district’s English-Language Arts proficiency percentages are the highest out of all the Santa Clarita Valley public schools. 2007’s results showed that 68 per cent of the 5000 students in the district tested at the proficient level or above on their English-Language Arts tests, almost a 4 per cent rise on last year.
The tests are taken in grades two through 11 each spring, and the state averaged 44 per cent proficiency in language arts for grades two to six. A 41 per cent county proficiency was reported for the same grades.
Newhall District superintendent Marc Winger says, "We look pretty good compared to the state. We killed the state."
According to Winger, 19% of students in the Newhall District are English language learners, which is a higher percentage than the three other elementary school districts in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Winger says, "That’s a special group of kids that, by definition, will have scores that are going to be lower because they’re English language learners. Our English language learners scores are up. We have more and more kids that are low socio-economic (children) doing better and better."
The Sulphur Springs Union School District lost 2 percentage points from last year’s scores.
Sulphur Springs District assistant superintendent Kathy Wright says, "Overall, we weren’t happy with our test scores this year. We were very disappointed. Our teachers have worked so hard and to see those scores, it was really deflating for all of us. When we did that, we were really pleased to see in the second grade, there was a 10 percent growth in language arts and 10 percent growth in fifth grade math. But the one area that over five years showed a decline was third grade language arts. If you look at it over the last five years, you could see that yes, we’ve been making growth. This just wasn’t one of our best years."
I am not surprised. With two kids that came out of that district I agree that it is one of the best.
