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January 2012

Starr King Elementary Leads SF Schools in Improved Test Scores

Keith Burbank

Last year, Starr King’s student test scores jumped by more than any other San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) elementary school.  Scores for all student groups – demographic, economic, and associated with a disability – who took the Academic Performance Index (API) test improved, according to greatschools.org.  Socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English-language learners advanced the most, increasing their marks by 76 points.  “The test is used to determine how well the school is meeting the needs of various subgroups,” said Principal Greg John.  “It assesses how well the school is keeping its promises to parents, the Superintendent would say.”

According to Matt Wayne, SFUSD’s executive director of elementary schools, John – who became principal two years ago – is focused on measuring his students’ achievements, while strongly supporting Starr King’s teachers.  John boosted school morale by creating an inclusive community of teachers, students, and their families.

In recognition of Starr King’s performance, in November State Senator Leland Yee presented the school with a state proclamation.  “You should all be incredibly proud.  Because of your hard work you are reaching your highest potential,” Yee said.  “And when you get ready to go to college, you can say it started here among your friends, teachers, and loved ones.  Please know, all of us care about you so much. It’s an honor to be here today.”

Starr King’s overall test score increased by 62 points last year, from 724 in 2010 to 786 in 2011.  A score of 800 is the state’s goal for public schools.  Starr King “is expected to cross the 800 mark in 2012,” John said, and “is now on par with the district average.” The school far-exceeded the growth target set for it by the state:  five percent of the difference between the previous year’s score and 800, or five points.  “…The gains were carried across all groups (of children).  That was really affirming for us,” said John.

“Asian students are still the best-performing students at the school,” John said, “but African-American students took a real leap.  And needed to.  We’re real proud of it.”  African-American students’ score leapt 63 points, to 640.  Marks for Hispanic students jumped 65 points, to 752.  The score for students identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged rose to 728; English-language learners’ scored 781.  Asian-American students’ score rose 38 points, to 897, while White students increased their score by 18 points, to 856.  Students who identified themselves as having a disability pushed their test scores up by 62 points, to 779.  

API test scores range from 200 to 1,000.   A score of 1,000 indicates students are at or above proficiency levels.  Following state protocol, Starr King administers the API test to second to fifth graders, in English and math, with fifth graders tested in science.  The percent of Starr King students scoring at or above proficiency levels was higher for all grades in English.  John credited Starr King’s advancing test scores in part to the hours teachers spent preparing.  “They are here on weekends.  It’s been a wonderful accomplishment for us.”     

According to John, teachers measure their students’ academic progress every eight to ten weeks, and change their lesson plans based on the standards to be achieved.   “We think these things helped improve the scores,” John said.  The school uses the Measuring Academic Performance, or MAP, assessment to track academic progress throughout the year.  “We saw progress, but we didn’t know how that would translate into the California standards test,” said John.  MAP measures academic success at each grade level, and gave teachers insight into how effectively they were connecting with students, and where they needed to adjust.  “We were an early adopter, among other elementary schools in the school district,” John said of the MAP assessment.  English-learners were also taken from the classroom each day for one-half hour English language lessons. “This was a big change over the previous year.  The school dedicated one teacher each day to this,” said John.      

Although overall test scores improved, in math and science some grades experienced declines.  Fifty-seven percent of third-graders scored proficiently or better in math in 2011, compared to 63 percent in 2010.  Only 16 percent of fifth-graders scored proficiently or better in math in 2011, compared to 28 percent in 2010.  Thirty-two percent of fifth-graders scored proficiently or better in science in 2011, compared to 40 percent in 2010.  According to Wayne, on average in California third-graders score lower in math than second-graders, and fifth-graders score lower in math than fourth-graders.  SFUSD wants to break that trend.

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