Schools

Schools Open Amid Praise for Test Scores

Positive academic growth in standardized testing was a major focus during Thursday's Board of Education meeting.

Gilroy schools reopened their doors on a high note after the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education responded with a shower of praise on Thursday to

The scores, from the “Standardized Testing and Reporting” test, commonly known as STAR, showed an increase in proficient and advanced scores across the district and a decrease in scores considered “far below basic.”

The STAR results were used to help estimate each school’s Academic Performance Index, or API. Actual API scores are expected to be released later this month.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“These results were not an accident,” said Superintendent Deborah Flores, commending staff across the district and notable changes to elementary education in Gilroy Unified.

Brownell School was considered a particular success for Flores, having risen approximately 50 points in its API for the past five years to 812—beyond the state target of 800.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kermit Schrock, program administrator for student assessment and data management, presented highlights from the data, including:

  • Second-grade English learners experienced a 15 percent increase in proficient/advanced English scores and a 14 percent increase in math.
  • Fifth-grade math performance in proficient/advanced grew by 12 percent.
  • Eighth-grade algebra scores saw a 12 percent gain in proficient/advanced.
  • 11th-grade English learners saw a 6 percent increase in proficient/advanced in English testing and an 8 percent increase in U.S. history results.

Board member Fred Tovar expressed concern at the lower marks of Mt. Madonna, the district’s continuation high school. The school is expected to receive an API score of 575, 225 points lower than the target of 800.

Superintendent Flores said that the school is a special case, with a highly varied student population. A more appropriate assessment would be possible in the school-by-school presentations to come in the next few months.

"This is really the big picture today," said board President Rhoda Bress. "It is just the first of many board meetings about these results."

Jaime Rosso, who has served on the board since 2000, said it was a watershed year after watching incremental improvements over the past decade.

“I feel like, after all these years, this has been a real payoff year for our district,” he said.

Other updates at the meeting included:

  • Recognition of Isais Carranza, a Rucker School fifth-grader who provided his input to school architects throughout their design process. Principal Jan Boehme beamed as he was recognized.
  • A presentation of , numbers that now include the number of students who make it from ninth grade to graduation. Gilroy beats the state average in retention.
  • , a technology overhaul at Rod Kelly, a new transportation facility and a revamped classroom at Gilroy High were all completed in time for the 2011-12 school year.


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