Dixon Schools Fall Below the State Average on STAR Test Results

are below the state average in standardized tests according to recently released test results.

A little over 4.7 million students across the state took the Standardized Testing and Reporting Assessment (STAR), with 54 percent scoring proficient or advanced in English-language Arts (4.4 million students tested) and 50 percent scoring proficient or advanced in Mathematics (4.3 million students tested), according to the results.

Dixon schools performed slightly below those averages with 50 percent scoring proficient or advanced in English-language Arts (2,697 students) and 44 percent proficient in Mathematics (2,704 students tested).

The test results also show that Dixon schools (grades tested include 2-11) fell below the state average of 47 percent proficiency in History, Dixon scored 41 percent; 57 percent proficiency in Science, Dixon scored 49 percent; and the state average of Science end-of-course (categories include biology, chemistry, earth science, physics and others) at 42 percent – Dixon scored 35 percent.

“It’s a trend that is not OK to say the least,” said Brian Dolan, interim superintendent of Dixon Unified School District. “I believe our staff has been working extremely hard for the last number of years. I have no doubt in my mind about the great effort that they are putting in their jobs.”

At the same time, Dolan said that many distractions – budget issues, contract negotiations, the relationship between the school board, management, teachers, staff and the community –  have taken away from the focus of the district.

“We absolutely as an organization have to establish our kids learning as our first priority,” Dolan said “That’s the call I’ve made to our staff and that’s the call I’m going to make to our community.”

Dolan said the district is planning a workshop on Thursday of next week to address some of the issues he sees as paramount to getting the district back on track.

“It’s very clear that our goals have to be totally centered on seeing the academic performance of our kids grow substantially,” he said.

Dolan said DUSD – from top to bottom –  needs address the needs of its students, identify what is working and what isn’t, and come up with an explicit plan to address the issues and plan for future steps.  

Here are the proficiency results for the individual schools in Dixon:

English-Language Arts

History

Mathematics

Science CST

Science End of Course

39. 7 %

n/a

48.6 %

21.7%

n/a

48.2%

n/a

53.2%

44.2%

n/a

54.5%

n/a

62.9%

38.3 %

n/a

55.5%

41.8%

56.2%

64.4%

n/a

51.5 %

45.1%

22.2%

48.9%

36.9%

7.2%

10.2%

0%

n/a

9.8%

When it comes to the individual schools within , , and tested above the state average in English-language Arts; and Tremont elementary schools and CA Jacobs scored above the state average in Mathematics; and CA Jacobs scored above the state average in Science.

Throughout Solano County, 48,856 students were tested. In English-language Arts 53 percent tested proficient; in Mathematics 47 percent tested proficient; History, 46 percent proficient; Science, 52 percent proficient; and Science end-of-course, 36 percent.

State scores are the highest since the program launched in 2003. That first year, just 35 percent of California students ranked proficient in math and English.

“The significant and sustained improvements we’ve seen for nine consecutive years prove how hard teachers, school employees, administrators and parents are working to help students achieve despite budget cuts that have affected our schools,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a statement.

“Their heroic teamwork is paying off for California.”

Though overall test scores went up, an achievement gap remains.

Black and Latino students continue to lag behind their white and Asian peers. Students from poor families or those for whom English is a second language also struggle to keep up, numbers show.

STAR scores are used to come up with schools' Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress report. Dropout and exit exam rates also factor into the API and AYP assessments.

Dropout rates were released Friday, those for the California High School Exit Exam are due out next week and the AYP and API scores on Aug. 31.

Dixon Unified carries a reported dropout rate of 20.3 percent for grades 9-12 during the 2009-2010 school year. However, the adjusted dropout rate is at 18.2 percent, accounting for the number of students who re-enrolled in school or transferred out of the district.

The county’s dropout adjusted dropout rate is at 18.8 percent.

To view Dixon’s STAR Test Results click here. To view the individual schools’ test results, click here.

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