MERCED CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 2002 REPORT ON THE CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TESTS AND STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST

“NO WIND CAN DO HIM GOOD WHO STEERS FOR NO PORT” - OLD PROVERB UNLESS WE HAVE A SENSE OF DIRECTION NO AMOUNT OF EFFORT WILL HELP US REACH OUR DESTINATION IT IS TESTING AND ASSESSMENT THAT HELPS US KNOW IF WE ARE ON COURSE TOWARD THAT DESTINATION ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FOCUS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

§CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TESTS §REQUIRED BY LAW (PSAA OF 1998) §SHOW HOW STUDENTS PERFORM ON TESTS THAT MEASURE STATE STANDARDS §EMPHASIS IS ON MASTERY §REFLECTS THE SUPERINTENDENT’S PRIORITY §WILL ACCOUNT FOR 60% OF NEXT YEAR’S API §STANFORD ACHIEVEMENT TEST §REQUIRED BY LAW (PSAA OF 1998) §SHOW HOW STUDENTS PERFORM ON A NORM REFERENCED TEST RELATIVE TO OTHERS IN THE NATION  EMPHASIS IS ON COMPARISON §DECREASING PRIORITY AT THE DISTRICT AND STATE LEVEL §WILL ACCOUNT FOR 40% OF NEXT YEAR’S API §WILL BE REPLACED BY THE CAT/6

STUDENTS ARE STEADILY DEMONSTRATING INCREASED ACCURACY ON READING STANDARDS TESTS STUDENTS ARE STEADILY DEMONSTRATING INCREASED ACCURACY ON MATH STANDARDS TESTS

IT MEANS: §STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN READING, MATH, LANGUAGE, AND SPELLING ARE SHOWING A CONSISTENT, LONG-TERM, AND SIGNIFICANT UPWARD TREND §COMPARED TO STUDENTS IN THE NATION, MCSD STUDENTS ARE SCORING NEAR THE MEAN, AT THE MEAN, AND IN SOME CASES ABOVE THE MEAN §A VERY HAPPY SUPER!

TO WHAT DOES THE DISTRICT ATTRIBUTE THE INCREASES IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? §SKILLS AND TALENTS ON THE PART OF TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, SUPPORT STAFF, AND CLASSIFIED STAFF §CAREFUL ATTENTION AND FOCUS ON STATE AND LOCAL STANDARDS §IMPROVED ALIGNMENT BETWEEN ASSESSMENT AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION §WELL ORGANIZED STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

CONT: §CLEAR AND SPECIFIC CURRICULUM PLAN FOR TEACHERS §EFFECTIVE TEXTBOOK ADOPTION PROCESS §MATH MATTERS STRATEGIES §NEW TEACHER ORIENTATION AND MENTORING

HOW DO STUDENTS PERFORM WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE DISTRICT FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME? WHILE THERE ARE RELIABILITY ISSUES INHERENT IN THESE METHODS, THE CENTRAL FEATURE IS THE IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING OF A STUDENT GROUP AS IT PROGRESSES THROUGH THE GRADES AND RECEIVES CONTINUOUS MERCED CITY SCHOOLING TO DETERMINE THIS, WE MUST USE WHAT IS CALLED A “COHORT”, “SAME SUBJECT”, OR “LONGITUDINAL” DESIGN. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS

THIS IS NEWSWORTHY!! NOTE: A SHIFT OF 3 OR MORE POINTS IS CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT FOR STUDENTS TRACKED FROM SECOND GRADE IN 1998 TO SIXTH GRADE IN 2002: ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH IN SPELLING WAS 11 POINTS. THIS WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH IN LANGUAGE WAS 14 POINTS. THIS WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH IN READING WAS 11 POINTS. THIS WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH IN MATH WAS 13 POINTS. THIS WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT

IMPROVEMENTS IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DO NOT OCCUR WITHOUT THE CONCERTED EFFORT OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS WITH THE SUPPORT OF CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES AND ADMINISTRATION. AND CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR STUDENTS