Students improve on state tests over last year

Laguna Beach Unified School District students’ performance on online state standardized tests for math and English language arts eclipsed the previous year’s results in both categories.

According to the California Department of Education website, 76% of Laguna students who took the tests in the 2015-16 school year met or exceeded state standards in English (82%) and math (70%). The department last week issued results of the second year of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.

In 2014-15, 76% of Laguna Beach Unified students met or exceeded standards in English, while 66% of students met or exceeded standards in math.

Public school students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 took exams that measured their ability to analyze problems, think independently and write clearly using evidence, principles of the Common Core standards.

Education officials consider the new tests more rigorous than the previous Standardized Testing and Reporting program, known as STAR.

Laguna’s overall 76% score ranks 1 percentage point below Irvine Unified’s 77% for the highest mark in Orange County, according to the education department’s website.

Highlights of the report include:

At Top of the World Elementary, 92% of fifth-grade students met or exceeded English standards, while 82% of Laguna Beach High’s 11th-grade students met or exceeded state English standards, according to a district news release.

District averages in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade math, along with sixth- and eighth-grade English — all from Thurston Middle School, the district’s only middle school — were the highest in the county, the release said.

Meanwhile, statewide, 49% of students met or exceeded the English standard, an increase of 5% from the previous year, while 37% of students met or exceeded the standards in math, a boost of 4% from the previous year, the education department’s website said.

Tests consisted of two parts.

The first part was an adaptive test taken on a computer that gave different follow-up questions based on a student’s answers, providing a more refined picture of the person’s abilities.

The second section challenged students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. The two parts measure depth of understanding, writing, research and problem-solving skills.

Students’ scores fall into one of four achievement levels: standard exceeded, standard met, standard nearly met and standard not met.

For more information about the tests, visit caaspp.cde.ca.gov.