State releases test results

Monterey testing guru Doug McRae gives this year's statewide improvement a "C" -- very average.

"This average annual gain statistic looks somewhat like a GPA, with numbers in the 3.0 to 4.0 range amenable to a characterization of 'good' to 'very good'. The notion that average annual gains in the 3.0 to 4.0 percent range tend to be what 'on track' large scale instructional and assessment programs yield has been noted by other educational measurement specialists and is quite consistent with my observations from 40 years of looking at K-12 assessment program data," McRae writes in an analysis to this year's data.

This year's gain was 2.05, according to McRae calculations. Or a C. Passing but not stellar compared with 2009 or 2005.

And Monterey County students continue with a slow, steady climb on the results.

Half of Monterey County fourth graders are now considered proficient in English, the first time this milestone has been reached countywide for any grade level.
Monterey County students continue to make progress across different subjects as measured by the Standarized Testing and Reporting, although the remain behind their peers at the state level.
Fifty-one percent of fourth graders achieved an advanced or proficient level of English in the 2011 CST test, a three-percentage point increase from 2010. In California, three out of every five fourth graders tested proficient or above.

For the complete results, click here.