STAR tests will be administered April 24-30 to Davis high school students in the10th and 11th grades.  These tests require no advance preparation on the part of students, other than to arrive on time, rested, and having eaten a good breakfast or lunch.  As evidenced by past performance, the majority of Davis students do well on STAR exams, finishing easily within the allocated time.  The remaining time may be used for quiet study.

Last year a significant portion of DHS students “opted-out” of taking STAR tests, that is, parents exercised their legal right to waive the requirement for their student to be tested.  This year’s decline in Davis High School’s API score (from 845 in 2005 to 825 in 2006) is widely thought to have been the result of these opt-outs.

Although STAR tests and AP exams do not overlap this year as they did last year, as we come around to testing time again, it is worth discussing the importance of “opting-in.”  Why should our students be tested?

• Schools receiving Title I funding, as DHS does, must test at least 95% of the student population (both overall and within numerically significant subgroups) or fail to make adequate yearly progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.   Consistent failure to do so results in increasingly severe sanctions which eventually require outside intervention in the day-to-day operation of a school.   To protect local autonomy over our academic programs, students must “opt-in” to testing.
• STAR testing is one measure of how well students learn what teachers teach.  Results are used at the school and district level to identify areas of weakness and target intervention.  For example, last year’s DHS STAR data showed that a significant portion of students in Algebra 1 and Geometry were not achieving acceptable levels of proficiency.  As a result, this year’s Site Council allocated $50,000 of its available funds to lowering the teacher/student ratio in these classes and is investigating expanding access to peer tutors.  To successfully identify and address areas of weakness, STAR data must accurately reflect student learning.  For it to do so, our students must “opt-in” to testing.
• The school’s API is based on STAR test results.  Educators, elected officials, colleges, and home buyers look at the API to evaluate the strength of a school program.  In particular, colleges may use the school’s API to place a student’s grade point average within a broader context.  A school with a dropping API is cause for concern.   For our API to accurately reflect the quality of our program, our students must “opt-in” to testing.
• As years of STAR test data begin to accumulate, it is possible to analyze trends and identify broad areas of concern, such as the significant racial gap in achievement among Davis students.  Community effort can then be focused on identifying the reasons for this gap and finding means to address it, as is currently being done by the DJUSD Achievement Gap Task Force.  Reliable data to support these efforts requires that all our students “opt-in” to testing.

Of course, the current system of assessment is not without its flaws, and parents are not without power to change it.  Communication may be sent to state and federal elected officials who are responsible for system oversight.  As one example, legislation pending at the state level will change the current assessment group from 2nd-11th graders to 3rd-11th graders, a change largely initiated by parents. 

For those who would like to further explore these topics, more information is available at:

Tests Administered in the Davis Joint Unified School District 2006-07

“Too Much Testing? Interim Superintendent [Richard Whitmore] Weighs In on Standardized Tests” by Julie Rooney, Davis Enterprise, April 3, 2007

“Racial Gap Wide in Test Scores: Davis Stats Remain High” by Jeff Hudson, Davis Enterprise, March 27, 2007

Davis Joint Unified School District Achievement Gap Task Force
http://www.djusd.k12.ca.us/EducationalServices/CI/AchievementGap/

Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Please initiate discussion on your class listserver or contact me directly.

Susan Lovenburg
DHS PTA parent education coordinator
SLovenburg@sbcglobal.net