Laguna Beach Unified School District ranks second in Orange County for overall percentage of students meeting or exceeding new state assessment test standards, the district announced Wednesday.
New state student assessment tests can’t be compared to previous tests but serve as a baseline for students’ progress as they venture into a new course of learning known as the Common Core state standards, Darlene Messinger, assistant superintendent of instructional services, said in a statement.
At Laguna Beach High School, 83 percent of 11th-graders either met or exceeded the English language arts and literacy standards, according to the results released Sept. 9, said Messinger. The results rank LBHS with the highest 11th grade percentage in Orange County.
Fifth-grade students in Laguna also exceeded all other south Orange County districts in math, and scored 5 percentage points above other south Orange County school districts, with 66 percent of students meeting or exceeding the standards.
Last spring, students in third, eighth and 11th grades participated in the 2015 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), said Messinger. The new computer-based tests assess English language arts and literacy as well as mathematics.
The exams are part of California’s plan to increase the level of student performance. “They are based on California’s new, more challenging academic standards, which are designed to help all students graduate ready for college and to pursue a career,” said Messinger.
According to the California Department of Education, these new tests differ from the old exams and cannot be used to make comparisons between old scores and new, she said. They measure new learning skills, she said.
Individual student score reports will be mailed to parents by the end of September or early October, Messinger said. The score reports contain an overall score for each subject as well as information about performance in different skill areas associated with English language arts and literacy and mathematics.
Additional information regarding the CAASPP is also available at http://www.lbusd.org/page.cfm?p=615
