STAR Testing

Currently, the California Standards Tests (CST), a part of the California STAR Testing Program, are on the minds of many students and teachers across the state. Every spring, second- through eleventh-graders prepare for and take the CST, which assess their knowledge of reading, writing, history, science and mathematics, according to the California Department of Education.

Taking the CST is not likely to be students’ favorite activity, so officials at Miguel Hidalgo Elementary School in Brawley treated them to a day of watery fun, the Imperial Valley Press reported. The outdoor event is organized every year to motivate students for the CST and celebrate their achievements from the previous year. Since its inception, the day of fun has become a part of the School’s culture.

This year, students were recognized for their academic performance at a morning ceremony, which was then followed by water activities in the playground. The pupils will take the CST over the course of six consecutive weeks beginning on May 7.

"We have big expectations for all of them," Celia Santana, Miguel Hidalgo’s principal, told the news outlet. "We made a lot of growth last year and we want to continue to meet our goals."

Since 1998, March 2 has been Read Across America Day, thanks to the National Education Association. In order to help students perform better on California STAR Testing Program assessments, the state will take things one step further with the establishment of Read Across California Month.

After students in California finish reading along with the rest of the country on March 2, they will take a pledge to continue reading 30 minutes for 30 days.

In 2009, roughly 54 percent of fourth-graders and 64 percent of eighth-graders who were tested scored at or above California’s basic reading level, according to the Nation’s Report Card. Unfortunately, these numbers are still below the averages for both grade levels across the country.

Furthermore, results from the 2010 California Standards Tests showed that 52 percent of students in grades two through eleven were considered to be proficient in English language arts.

However, supporters of Read Across California Month hope that this initiative will have a positive impact on the state’s literacy rate, while also fostering a greater interest in books among the state’s youth.

For instance, a study of 5,200 fifth-graders and their parents, which appeared in a 2008 issue of the Journal of School Health, revealed that students who had low-quality diets were more likely to perform poorly in school.

In a recent San Jose Mercury News editorial, three California-based healthcare professionals wrote about the ways in which Healthy Kids, a program designed to provide children with health insurance, has improved the lives and education of youths in Santa Clara County.

According to the article, more than 60 percent of students in the San Jose Unified School District have medical, dental and vision coverage. This has helped children who suffer from asthma, as the number of students who need to go to the emergency room for their condition dropped to one in six with health coverage.

Furthermore, they wrote that the number of students with asthma who were advanced or proficient on the California Standards Test, a part of the California STAR Testing Program, was equal to or greater than the number of students without any health conditions who achieved these scores.

Based on the results of the 2011 California STAR Testing Program, while there was an increase in proficiency levels among all subgroups, an achievement gap still exists for Latino students, according to the California Department of Education. However, one of the state's school districts is committed to helping these pupils raise their scores.

Mountain View Patch reported that three institutions in the Mountain View Whisman School District - Bubb, Castro and Huff Elementary Schools - have all received approval to implement their School Improvement Plans. Among educators' goals is to improve students' scores on the California Standards Test (CST).

Subgroups that attend classes in the School District continue to struggle with the CST, the news source stated. For example, at Huff, only 59 percent of Hispanic students scored proficient to advanced in mathematics.

To reverse this trend, Huff plans to establish an after-school homework help center for students who require additional assistance, according to the news outlet. The institution will also provide multiple training sessions for teachers to help them work with Spanish-speaking pupils.

Outstanding teachers and parental support are just two of the factors behind high scores on the 2010-11 California STAR Testing program in the Etiwanda School District, the Fontana Herald-News reported.

Students' test results in the several schools in northwestern Fontana that make up the District helped Etiwanda surpass all other districts in San Bernardino County in terms of STAR test scores, according to the news source.

Across the District, 10,455 students in grades two through eight took part in the California STAR Testing program, the news outlet stated. Based on their scores, 76 percent of students were proficient in math, while 74 achieved the same designation in language arts. Additional progress was made in closing the achievement gap for African American pupils and English learners in the areas of English and language arts.

"Etiwanda School District attributes high test scores to strong parent support, outstanding teachers and support staff, exceptional site leadership, the focus on standards, and our after school and in-school intervention programs," Sylvia Kordich, the District's assistant superintendent of instruction and pupil services, told the news outlet.

In addition to English, language arts and mathematics, the California Standards Tests measure students' abilities in science and history-social science, according to the California Department of Education.

Several schools from around the country were recently honored at the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards in Washington, D.C. Among the institutions that were recognized was Valley Christian Junior High in San Jose, California.

Valley Christian received the Intel Foundation's Star Innovator Award for its achievements in math and science education, as well as the institution's ability to promote 21st-century skills among its students. This honor provides the school with $15,000, in addition to funding from other prizes, for a grand total of $125,000.

"By honoring the Intel Schools of Distinction winners, Intel hopes to inspire other schools to reinvigorate their own programs and prepare America's youth for success in the global economy," said Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel's Corporate Affairs Group.

Among Valley Christian's accomplishments has been its students' ability to consistently score in the nation's top 17 percent in mathematics on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10) over the past four years.

According to Pearson Education, the maker of the SAT-10, this multiple choice assessment helps teachers better evaluate their students' progress. 

As part of education reform, many schools are choosing to evaluate their teachers' pay based on how well students perform on standardized tests.

The media is beginning to uncover how some schools matched up to others in terms of student testing, causing some educators to criticize being portrayed as either good or bad from test scores alone, according to the Los Angeles Times.

After the Times published an analytical piece about STAR Testing scores in the Los Angeles Unified School District, some administrators and union leaders said that it was an unfair portrayal of educators.

Some critics have suggested that standardized test scores alone should not be the go-to for determining teacher pay, as there could be other reasons for student performance.

According to the Times Record Online, there are other factors for student test performance other than teachers. These factors include relationships with other teachers, the students' home environment, parental support and mobility to and from school can all be reasons for how a pupil performs on a standardized test.