Botched STAR Tests Robs Las Juntas of API Scores

The students and teachers of were robbed.

The school serves the highest number of minority students in Martinez, with the lowest average parental income. Yet this year, it joined the other schools in the Martinez Unified School District in meeting its state and federal academic requirements, as the students lived up to the (API).

But instead of celebrating, school officials are facing federal sanctions this year, the result of botched STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) tests.

According to Martinez Unified School District Superintendent Rami Muth, an unnamed teacher failed to follow the directions while administering the test, which affected over 5 percent of the STAR test scores.

As a result, Las Juntas did not technically meet its testing requirements, and shows no API scores this year. Instead, it is being placed in the first year of Program Improvement, which means that a portion of the federal funds it receives must be used for staff development, and parents must be notified of the school’s PI status.

If the school continues to score below the required testing levels, the penalties increase each year. However, Muth said that the district has crunched the numbers, and shown that Las Juntas would have made its API requirements this year, had the tests been administered correctly.

The end result of this? Ultimately, it’s the students who pay the price, since they worked very hard all year, and the reward for all that work — recognition — was denied their school. The teachers also pay, since they are held accountable for the scores, or in this case, the lack of scores.

In this case, the wrong people are being held accountable for the actions of one. And that is, at the very least, a shame.