By Peter Day
Senior Reporter
No matter the name of the testing program, Lucerne Valley Unified School District students continue to under perform when compared to students countywide.
The LVUSD generally scored lower than the San Bernardino County average, according to recently released results of California Department of Education's new software-based assessment system, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Overall, 35 percent of the county's 210,000 students tested did not meet English Language Arts standards compared to Lucerne Valley's 45 percent. Lucerne Valley fared similarly in Mathematics with 55 percent not meeting standards compared to the countywide average of 44 percent.
SWITCHING FROM STAR TO CAASPP
Previously, state public school students were tested using the paper-based Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests. Though the testing formats differ, the methods remain essentially the same. Students in grades three, four, five, six, seven, eight and 11 were tested. The Lucerne Valley Unified School District tested a total of 457 students.
Within the school district, 22 percent of district students overall met the English Language Arts standards with 26 percent nearly meeting the standards and 45 percent not meeting the standards. Seven percent of district students exceeded the standards.
Thirty-two percent of LVUSD 8th graders met the overall standards, the highest among the grades tested. Conversely, 62 percent of 4th graders didn't meet the standards. Third grade had the highest percentage of students exceeding standards with 16 percent.
In specific areas tested, 42 percent of all students tested were at or near the standard for demonstrating understanding of literary and non-fictional texts (reading) with 49 percent below standard. Exactly half of 8th-grade students were at or near the standard while 59 percent of 6th graders were below.
In the writing standard, 45 percent of all district students were at or near the standard with an equal amount below. Lucerne Valley 11th graders had the highest amount of students — 23 percent — above standard, 8th grade had 64 percent, which was the largest percentage, of students at or near standard, and the 4th grade had 57 percent below standard.
In the listening standard (demonstrating effective communication skills), the majority (59 percent) were at or near the standard with 34 percent below. The highest number above standard came from the 3rd grade with 16 percent. The largest number of those below standard was 6th grade with 37 percent below. The largest number at or near standard were the 8th graders with 68 percent.
In the researching category, overall 56 percent were at or near the standard with 34 percent below. The 11th grade had the highest number above standard at 18 percent, the 6th and 11th grades each had 68 percent at or near the standard while the 3rd grade had the largest percentage — 48 percent — below standard.
MOST NOT MEETING MATH STANDARDS
In Mathematics, the majority of district students were not meeting standards with 55 percent in that category. Only 12 percent of students have met standards with an additional 3 percent in the standard exceeded category,
In the applying mathematical concepts and procedures area, 65 percent of all district students were below standard and 30 percent were at or near. Another 5 percent were above standard.
In problem solving, 51 percent of students were below standard and 45 percent were at or near standard. Another 4 percent were above. The 6th graders fared the worst at 63 percent below standard while the 8th grade had the best score with 58 percent at or near standard.
In the demonstrating ability to support mathematical conclusions, 50 percent were at or near standard with 46 percent were below standard category. Both the 7th and 8th grade had the largest amount at or near standard with 71 percent and 69 percent, respectively. The third grade had the highest percentage of students, 18 percent, who were above standard.
In the LVUSD, white students scored higher in overall achievement in English Language Arts with 27 percent of white students meeting standards and another 8 percent exceeding. Seventeen percent of Hispanics met standards and an addition 5 percent exceeded. Nearly half, 48 percent, did not meet standards. However, 30 percent of Hispanic students scored in the "standard nearly met" category compared to only 23 percent of white students.