Hermosa Students STAR Scores Rise

Students across Los Angeles County—and here in Hermosa Beach—have improved Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) exam scores this year, with higher percentages of them scoring advanced or proficient in math and English this year, according to test results released Monday by the California Department of Education.

Locally, 88.7 percent of students scored as proficient or advanced in the math section of the California Standards Test; 92.2 percent scored proficient or advanced in science; 90.2 percent scored proficient or advanced in history; and 86.8 percent scored proficient or advanced in English-language arts.

Those numbers show improvement from last year, when 86.7 percent of Valley students scored as proficient or advanced in math; 89.2 percent in science; 89.8 percent in history; and 86.8 percent in English-language arts. Hermosa Valley enrolls students in grades 3-8.

As for , which enrolls children in kindergarten, first and second grades, 92 percent of students this year scored proficient or advanced in math and 85.1 percent scored proficient or advanced in English-language arts.

Last year, 88.3 percent scored proficient or advanced in math and 87.7 percent scored proficient or advanced in English-language arts.

The STAR program results measure English-language arts, math, science and history-social science for grades 2-11.

The State Board of Education set five benchmarks in each subject to evaluate a student's score: "advanced," "proficient," "basic," "below basic" and "far below basic."

Countywide, more than 1.2 million students were tested, and 51 percent scored advanced or proficient in English-language arts and 47.7 percent in math.

Both figures show an increase from last year, when 48.3 percent of students scored advanced or proficient in English and 45 percent achieved those levels in math.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said that California students have continued to "steadily improve" their performance since the state began measuring student progress on such tests in 1998.

"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," he said in a statement Monday. "Their heroic teamwork is paying off for California."

But while the county and state scores show an increase in proficiency levels overall, Torlakson said that results still showed an achievement gap among black, Latino, English-learner and low-income students and their peers. 

"We have more work to do to make sure every student receives the world-class education he or she deserves and has the opportunity to achieve their dreams and contribute to the success of our state," Torlakson said. "I'm committed to that effort—and to working with California's leaders to provide our schools and our communities with the resources they need." 

About 4.7 million students participated in the state's 2011 STAR program.

View Hermosa Beach schools' test results here at the California Department of Education website.

— City News Service contributed to this report.