Limited-English test scores rise

And test results for bilingual students in the Antelope Valley seem to mirror the results from other students across the state.

In the Palmdale School District, limited-English-proficiency students increased their scores by as much as 7 percentile points in reading. Math scores improved even more dramatically among Palmdale LEP students, with third-graders going from a 34 percentile ranking in 1999 to 39 this year.

Fourth-graders saw the biggest jump in math scores at Palmdale, going from a 25 percentile ranking to a score of 36.

In addition, depending on grade level, Palmdale limited-English students, increased their language percentile rankings from six to 11 points, while scores in spelling went up two to 10 points.

Roger Gallizzi, director of the biliteracy program of the Palmdale School District, said he was not surprised with the results.

"We make sure they are placed in the right classroom," he said. "I am not surprised but am very pleased."

Gallizzi said the district has worked very hard to train teachers in this area.

"This investment is paying off," he said.

Lancaster limited-English students' test scores more than doubled in many cases. In reading, percentile rankings increased by 23 points for seventh and eighth grades. Math scores also increased by over 20 points in several grade areas.

Language scores also more than doubled in Lancaster while spelling results went up by 16 to 24 points.

The Antelope Valley Union High School District saw its scores minimally increase in every subject and grade.

Keppel Union School District LEP grades increased in most areas, though seventh-grade results were not available last year because few students were classified as limited English proficient, said Linda Lownes of the state Department of Education.

In the Keppel district, reading scores increased by as much as 11 points, though fourth-graders dropped from a 12th-percentile ranking to a score of 10.

Math, spelling and language scores also rose slightly.

LEP fourth-graders at Keppel saw their scores drop in every subject except math, and that improvement was only two percentile points.

The Westside Union School District scores could only be compared in the third grade because other grades only had a few students classified as limited English proficient.

For Westside's Union Elementary LEP third-graders, reading scores rose 10 percentile points; math was up 17 points; language increased by 23 points; and spelling improved 20 percentile points to 43.

Regina Rossall, assistant superintendent of educational services for Westside, said her district works with teachers so they will be able to help LEP students transition into English.

In some cases, Spanish and English are used to help newer limited-English students learn academics while they learn English, she said.

"We are very much an emergent program," she said. An emergent program is defined as gradually introducing students to new concepts, in this case a new language.

Rossall said Westside's small student body enables staff to concentrate on the LEP students it does have. The Palmdale and Lancaster school districts, she added, cannot be compared to Westside because of their large student bases.

New test scores released Tuesday by the state Department of Education provided more details because this is the third time students have taken the Standardized Testing and Reporting exam.

A month ago the state released scores for all students in school districts across the state, which did not include a breakdown of bilingual children.

Opponents of bilingual education say the improved scores prove the success of Proposition 227, which required teaching to be "overwhelmingly" in English for immigrant children. But education experts say the statewide test is not a good measure of whether immigrant children are learning English.

The STAR test is taken by public school students in second through 11th grades. It is the basis for Gov. Gray Davis' high-stakes school improvement program that includes monetary rewards for schools and teachers when scores go up and eligibility for a threeyear improvement program when they do not.

"These scores indicate that our focus on improved academic achievement is taking hold for all groups of students," Davis said Monday. "We still have a long way to go."

The overall results for 4.7 million students showed increases of several percentage points in nearly every grade and subject, with the largest improvements in the lowest grades, particularly second and third.

However, scores remained below the national average for reading for all grades.

Without counting the scores for nearly 1 million students who aren't proficient in English, the remaining English-fluent students were above the national average in reading for all grades except high school, and in math for all grades.

State school Superintendent Delaine Eastin said Tuesday's figures provide a better comparison to other states, since the national sample only has 1.8% of students who are English learners while California has about 25%.

"Not surprisingly, the STAR results show that it is difficult for students to do well in academic content areas until they are proficient in English," she said.

As expected, the students who aren't proficient in English scored well below the national average in all areas, but their scores improved over the 1999 and 1998 levels.

Uploaded August 16, 2000