STAR Test Results Released, But Some Say Evaluations Too Rigid

On Monday, the state released the long-awaited results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting program, or the STAR exam, which is used to determine student progress in reading, language and math, along with science, spelling and the social sciences.

Implemented in 1998, the STAR test is given every spring in grades 2 through 11. The results are used to determine schools' Academic Performance Index scores, which in turn are used to see if schools are meeting federal standards set by No Child Left Behind.  

According to tests taken last academic year, Sonoma County students fared slightly better than the state average, with 58 percent scoring proficient or advanced in English compared to 54 percent statewide, according to a story in Monday's Press Democrat.

But the test scores vary from school to school, from grade to grade. In Rohnert Park, at for example, 25 percent of junior high students received below basic or far below basic in English/language arts; 45 percent of incoming freshmen at Rancho received below basic or far below basic scores in math and in history, 26 percent of juniors scored "below basic."

At , there were no juniors in the below basic category in English, 2 percent of incoming freshmen scored below basic on math and in history, 2 percent of juniors were below basic.

But, opponents of rigid standardized testing argue federal mandates set forth by No Child Left Behind don't show students' full potential, because people learn differently.

"If the federal and state government wants to have an accountability system, and they want to use standardized testing to evaluate schools and districts, what we really should be doing is evaluating how much students are actually learning over the course of a year,"  said Eric Larsen, a research fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, in May when district Academic Progress Index scores were released.

. To find out how your school did, check out the district-wide database here.