Kern STAR levels rise slowly

The testing program, known as the Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, was authorized in 1997 by Senate Bill 376 to test the knowledge of public school students in second through 11th grades. Students are tested in reading, writing and mathematics.

School districts' STAR test scores, which measure their students' progress, are compared with others statewide and against a national average. Percentile rankings range from 1 to 99, with 50 being average.

A student who scores at the 50th percentile is considered to have demonstrated a knowledge of what is expected at that particular grade level.

Students in second through eighth grades are tested in reading, math, language and spelling; students in ninth through 11th grades are also tested in social science and science.

Mike Summerbell, assistant superintendent for educational services for the Muroc Unified School District, said his district is proud of its STAR test results and looks foward to continuing to work in areas that might need some improvement.

Muroc educates more than 1,900 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

"We are ... pleased with the results from our district," Summerbell said. "We have ideas to help improve the instruction and comply with the analysis on the skill structure."

Overall, grades two through eight either were slightly below or above the national percentile average in reading, math, language and spelling.

According to the test results, Muroc students in grades two through eight scored between 59 and 71 in reading, 56 to 76 in math and language and 47 to 64 in spelling.

For grades nine through 11, students were slightly above the 50th percentile.

Muroc's combined scores in reading, math and language were slightly at or below the national average, ranging from 35 to 58. In social science and science, scores hit above the average, ranging from 51 to 65. The state average ranged from 32 to 48.

In the Southern Kern Unified School District, which includes kindergarten through 12th grade students, students' scores were split - some above and some below the national average in all subjects.

The most impressive of the gains were made in second third fifth and eighth grades in reading and mathematics. Scores for the second, third, fifth and eighth grades ranged from 37 to 58; ninth-grade scores went up slightly but not above the national average.

Ninth-grade reading and math were still below the state average of 51, at 35 in reading and 36 in math.

Last year, Kern students were in the low 20s and 30s for reading and math - giving them gains between 5 and 15 percentile points.

In grades nine through 11, the Kern district still ranked below average in reading, math and language.

Students scored between 23 and 51 in reading, math and language, compared to last year when students scored between 29 to 46 in the same subjects. In social science and science, scores varied from 31 to 66.

In a released statement from the Southern Kern Unified School District, superintendent Christine Hoffman said, "While there is always improvement to be made, I am extremely proud of the work that was done this year at all the sites.

"Staff and students' awareness regarding the importance of these results, as well as their diligence in teaching and learning is showing that marked improvement is possible when we are all clearly focused on state objectives," she added.

Hoffman was out of town Monday and unavailable for further comment.

In a released statement from the Mojave Unified School District - which educates about 2,079 students in kindergarten through 12th grade - acting Superintendent Daniel Knapp noted "... there has been improvement at most grade levels, with the exception of a few glitches."

While pleased with this improvement, Mojave Unified will continue its efforts to excel and further improve during the 2000-2001 school year, Knapp said in his statement.

Knapp also was not available for further comment Monday.

Students in the Mojave district scored slightly higher than last year's scores, barely reaching the national average.

Mojave students in second through eighth grade, for the most part, scored slightly higher than the 50th percentile in reading, math, language and spelling. Scores ranged from the low 30s to the 50th percentile.

Last year, students in second through eighth grade scored between 20 and 50.

Mojave students in grades nine through 11 improved in all subjects, with scores ranging from 26 to 48, compared to last year's scores, which were as low as 15 and only hit as high as 43.

This year students' scores for social science and science ranged from 40 to 51.

Uploaded July 18, 2000