STAR Testing: A Primer for Parents

STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting Program) and SABE (Spanish Assessment of Basic Education) tests are assessments given to students in grades 2-11 in late spring to measure their academic knowledge in core content areas.

Content areas covered include language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social science, with an additional writing section for students in grade 7 and above.

STAR testing and API scores are all a part of No Child Left Behindstandards. That protocol states that “each state has developed and implemented measurements (STAR testing for California) for determining whether its schools and local educational agencies are making adequate yearly progress (AYP). It sets the minimum level of proficiency that the state, its school districts, and schools must achieve each year on annual tests and related academic indicators.” 

AYP standards push for student achievement, and, if a school does not make their yearly AYP goals, then a protocol of action is put in place to help the school succeed the following year.

Students are rated on a five-point scale: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic, and Far Below Basic. A rating of “Proficient” and above is the most desirable, where the student meets expectations.

Obviously, schools want the highest percentage of students to score in the “Basic” and above areas. In the past, most students enrolled at PSD schools score in the “Basic” and above ranges, giving PSD schools a good API, or Academic Performance Index, which rates, or “grades”, schools on a scale of 200-1000.

Pacifica school scores have dramatically increased in 2010, with all the schools reaching their ascribed goals. The District website lists the 2010 scores as:

2009

2010

Cabrillo

865

876

Ingrid B Lacy

796

809

Ocean Shore

854

864

Ortega

809

835

Vallemar

867

874

Sunset Ridge

780

826

Pressure for an elevated school API is prevalent in the school community, not only from the superintendent, but also from parents.  Schools with higher APIs are often considered to be more desirable, with more experienced teachers, and dedicated students, which means that schools with lower APIs can be sometimes stigmatized by parents.

“Most parents and community members look at API scores exclusively," said Ellie Cundiff, principal at . "The testing gives us a snapshot of student performance. There is definitely important information that we get that guides our instruction and there is a need for assessment to monitor student performance on a consistent basis.”

Mike Crilly, superintendent of JUHSD, concurs with Cundiff.

“Test scores do matter to the school, but not so much to the students," he said. "They play a major role in determining API ranking which is viewed as very important to parents.”