Racial gap wide in test scores: Davis stats remain high
by Jeff Hudson/Enterprise staff writer
Published: March 27, 2007
 
The so-called achievement gap was evident in today's release of Academic Performance Index figures by the California Department of Education — and that was true in Davis, Woodland, Winters and all around the state.
 
If anything, the gap was a bit more evident in Davis than in neighboring communities, with a larger point spread between white and Asian students in comparison with their Latino and African-American classmates.
 
Overall, the Davis schools posted high scores in today's API release, as has been the case in recent years. The Woodland and Winters school districts posted small gains at most campuses, but the achievement gap is evident there as well — though not quite as pronounced as in Davis.
 
Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, said he was troubled by the racial divide.
 
"I am deeply concerned that significant gaps exist between the API results for different subgroups of students," he said in a news release. "I have begun an intensive effort to find ways to close the gap that exists between successful students who are often white or Asian, and financially well off, and struggling students who are too often poor, Hispanic, African American, English learners or with a disability.
 
"As a state, we have a moral, ethical and economic obligation to address the needs of every group of students."
 
This midyear round of API numbers reflects a "recalibration" of the numbers released by the California Department of Education in August, adding results from new 2006 science assessments. API scores range from a theoretical minimum of 200 to a maximum possible score of 1,000. Schools scoring over 800 are considered "high performing schools."
 
"Davis students continue to perform at high levels of achievement," said Clark Bryant, director of curriculum and instruction for the Davis school district. "Each school scored over 800. Three schools — North Davis Elementary, Pioneer Elementary and Robert Willett Elementary — scored above 900.
 
"Birch Lane Elementary, Montgomery Elementary and Emerson Junior High demonstrate the largest gains, with an increase of 15 points on the API."
 
Overall, the Davis district's 2006 API base score went up a blip, rising by 2 points over the 2005 base.
 
When Davis students' scores are sorted by ethnicity, the overall score for white (non-Hispanic) students dropped by a single point from last year — but a 1-point difference in either direction is not considered statistically significant.
 
"All our other subgroups demonstrate gains," Bryant said, "with the largest gains being among our English learners (26 points) and our students with disabilities (23 points)."
 
Davis students from an Asian background scored highest as a group, with a 934 API. White (non-Hispanic) students in Davis score 884, African-American students scored 758 and Hispanic/Latino students scored 721.
 
This makes for a gap of more than 210 points between the highest scoring ethnic subgroup and the lowest. Those figures undoubtedly will be discussed by the Davis district's new Achievement Gap Task Force, which was formed several months ago and is now meeting regularly.
 
Socioeconomically disadvantaged students in Davis scored 707, while students with disabilities scored 668.
 
Davis High School did not claim bragging rights as the highest-scoring high school in the region in this round of API figures. Granite Bay High in Placer County scored 830 and Oak Ridge High in El Dorado County scored 839. Davis was tied for third with two other high schools at 828.
 
In Woodland, the district's API base rating went up from 694 in 2005 to 706 in 2006. Most of Woodland's elementary and middle schools posted gains — the exceptions being Dingle Elementary (down 38 points), Gibson Elementary (down 2 points) and Tafoya Elementary (down 5 points). Woodland High school dropped 9 points, described as "a temporary decline due to realignment of the math course sequences" by Diane Campbell, director of accountability and evaluation with the Woodland district.
 
Overall, "Woodland schools gained a cumulative 289 points" as a group, Campbell said, "with the Program Improvement schools making 114 points of that gain. (Program Improvement schools are being tracked under federal No Child Left Behind legislation.)
 
When sorted by ethnicity, Hispanic/Latino students in Woodland scored 653 as a group, as compared with 704 for African-American students, 768 for Asian students and 778 for white (non-Hispanic) students. This makes for a 115 point gap between the highest-scoring ethnic subgroup and the lowest.
 
In Winters, all four of the school district's campuses scored over 700 for the first time. The Winters district's overall score went from 700 in 2005 to 706 in 2006. When sorted by ethnicity, the API figures for Winters students largely paralleled those of Woodland students.
 
The demographic data in today's API release also presented a portrait of Davis and Woodland as substantially different school districts in terms of ethnic makeup, economic status and parent education, making a simple numerical comparison of API scores as a measure of school district performance an incomplete evaluation at best.
 
* In Davis, 65 percent of students are white, 15 percent are Asian, 13 percent are Hispanic/Latino, 4 percent are African-American, 1 percent are American Indian or native Alaskan and 1 percent are Filipino.
 
Only 16 percent of Davis students participate in free or reduced-price lunch programs. Only 10 percent are English learners. Eighty-two percent have a parent who is a college graduate; 59 percent have a parent who has attended graduate school; and 7 percent have a parent with a high school diploma (or less).
 
* In Woodland, 56 percent of students are Hispanic/Latino, 36 percent are white, 5 percent are Asian, 2 percent are African-American and 1 percent are American Indian or native Alaskan.
 
Forty-eight percent of Woodland students participate in free or reduced-price lunch programs. Thirty percent of Woodland students are English learners. Twenty-five percent have a parent who is a college graduate; 7 percent have a parent who has attended graduate school; and 46 percent have a parent with a high school diploma (or less).
 
— Reach Jeff Hudson at jhudson@davisenterprise.net or 747-8055.  
Copyright, 2007, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.