Students continue to test well in the school district but math results have raised some concern.
As the student population continues to grow, the percentage of those scoring advanced and proficient on the English and Math Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests combined continues to grow as well. Normally as the student population goes up, the scores go down percentage-wise.
The district, however, expressed concern over how middle school and high school students are performing on their STAR math tests.
Leslie Anderson, director of instruction accountability for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, presented an analysis of the high school exit exam and STAR tests to the school board at its last meeting. She identified math results as an area of concern.
“What steps need to be taken to increase proficiency in middle and high school math courses/STAR tests?” Anderson asked.
Whereas 83-87 percent of the students in grades 2-5 are scoring advanced and proficient in math, the percentage drops in the higher grades. School board members debated whether students lose their motivation to do well on standardized tests as they get older.
School Board President Joan Buchanan firmly disagreed with the idea that students lack motivation.
“Other districts say the same thing,” said Buchanan. “It’s not right to blame the students. We need to take them as real scores. Why do test scores fall in high school? Students still need to know it’s important.”
In an interview after the school board meeting, Anderson explained that as students get older there are a lot of other tests that vie for their attention.
“When students are in high school there are a lot of things they’re planning for: the SATs, college, and they’re in AP classes so they’re preparing for AP exams,” said Anderson. College applications, SAT scores, and AP exam scores all have consequences for students and their post-high school lives. The STAR exam does not.
With all of those competing interests – interests that weigh heavier on the students’ minds – there is little incentive, other than a sense of personal best, for students to do well on the STAR exam.
“I don’t know if they have a clear purpose in their minds when they’re taking it,” said Anderson. “They’re pretty savvy. Sometimes they need to understand the purpose.”
A few years back, the state offered scholarships to students who performed well on the STAR exams, said Anderson. Those scholarships are no longer offered. There are students, however, that try hard no matter what, said Anderson.
There is no way for a student to study for the STAR exam, said Anderson.
“We should be teaching for the standard,” said Anderson. “We should be preparing by osmosis.”
Another concern is the discrepancy in scores between the students who are adept at math and the students who struggle with math.
Ninety-one percent of the 10th grade students who took the advanced high school math exam passed at an advanced and proficient level, whereas only 28 percent of the 10th graders who took the algebra STAR test passed at an advanced and proficient level. Typically students in the 10th grade are finished with algebra and taking geometry so would not be taking the algebra STAR test. Even though 2005 results show an improvement for both 10th-graders taking algebra and 10th graders taking the advanced math exam, the chasm between those who excel at math and struggle is still clear – and still a concern to the district.
“If you never understood division in elementary school,” said Buchanan, “you’re going to struggle all the way through.”
Presently, one way that schools help students struggling with math is by offering a math lab.
“Most of our schools have put into place an additional period of math lab,” said Anderson. “A lot of times when they’re struggling in upper level math class it’s because they didn’t master the facts. The lab helps support basic skills as they take on more skills.”
The difficulty level also increases as students progress, said Anderson, but what has really changed in recent years is when students are expected to learn certain math skills.
“We’re asking kids to do things earlier. When I went to school I took algebra in ninth grade. Now they’re taking it in eighth grade,” said Anderson.
Part of this adjustment is reflected in the numbers. In 2003, only 30 percent of eighth-graders were taking algebra. Of those 30 percent, a whopping 95 percent scored at an advanced and proficient level.
Taking algebra in eighth grade is now considered more standard. In 2005, 49 percent of eighth-graders took algebra. Some were more prepared than others, said Anderson. The percentage of students who passed at advanced and proficient dropped from 2003’s 95 percent to 80 percent.
“When you put more kids in, you’ve got different needs,” said Anderson. “You’ve got to think of strategies for kids so they can take algebra.”
