Area school districts did better than average on the 2004 California English Language Development Test of English learning students. Sixty-six percent of students tested in Arcadia Unified School District scored in the advanced categories.
A study released today by the Public Policy Institute of California found students' progress toward English proficiency is linked to their native language and socioeconomic status more than the length of time they've been in the country. A comparison chart of San Gabriel Valley schools is included.
In the transition to the new federal No Child Left Behind Program, the Arcadia Board of Education is losing money and is being forced to cut the number of English language instructional aides in elementary school.
Arcadia Unified School District students show impressive scores on the Standard Achievement Test (SAT 9) and on advanced placement tests. See chart of scores from 1994-2001.
Test scores of Arcadia Unified School District's seniors rose this year. The reading score was 294 (up 19 points) while math score was 333 (up 20 points). Since 1987-88, students moved from the 77th to the 85th percentile in reading and from the 89th to the 96th percentile in math statewide.
Arcadia High School students are doing well on the high school exit examinations. 89% of 10th graders taking the math exam passed and 88% passed the English exam. Comparison of test scores with Monrovia, Pasadena, and Los Angeles County.
The new CAS (2) program, an acronym for Curriculum Alignment System and Comprehensive Assessment System, will replace the California Assessment Program (CAP), the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), and the District Minimum Proficiency Tests. CAS (2) testing will begin in November for high school seniors, with all other grades to take the test in the spring. Advantages of the new test are given in the article.
The California State Department of Education has released test scores and rankings. Every spring the state gives each public school two rankings from 1 to 10. A "statewide" rank compares each school in the state and the "similar schools" rank compares schools with similar demographics and populations. Oak Avenue Intermediate in Temple City Unified School District and Huntington Middle School and San Marino High School in San Marino Unified all got 10s in both categories. All schools in the Arcadia Unified School District earned a rank of 10 in the "statewide" category, but ranks varied in the "similar schools" category.
Results of the new state test called the CAT-6 (California Achievement Test), which replaces the old SAT-9 test, show that around 70% of the students at each grade level in the Arcadia schools are in the national norm of 50th percentile in reading, and half or more of these students tested at or above the 75th percentile. Each grade level has a breakdown, and comparison with Monrovia students.
A chart shows the API scores for West San Gabriel Valley schools for 2004 on page A4. 85 percent of schools in the West San Gabriel Valley maintained or increased their Academic Performance Index ranking compared to schools across the state.
Fewer than half of the high school students statewide scheduled to graduate in 2004 have passed both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the California High School Exit Exam. Arcadia High School sophomores who took the test last year had the strongest showing in the local area with 89% of the 738 students tested passing math and 88% passing English.
81 percent of area schools met their growth targets on the California state Academic Performance Index (API). However, 35 percent of West San Gabriel Valley schools failed to meet the federal accountability targets determined by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. See chart on page A6 for Arcadia Unified School District progress.
Officials estimate the infection rate of West Nile Virus is higher than what is currently known since health officials stopped testing dead birds where the virus is confirmed to be present. Arcadia and West Covina had high rates of infection among San Gabriel Valley communities.