by Lance T. Izumi, Fellow in California Studies
Pacific Research Institute
September 17, 2002

Announcer lead: Time for Perspectives. Lance Izumi says that there’s good and bad news about California’s recently released student test scores.

For the average person, understanding California’s student testing system is far from easy. First the state administers not one, but two sets of tests. Further, when the results of these two tests were recently released, they appeared to contradict each other. The situation, however, is not as confusing as it may seem and there are some clear lessons to be learned.

Although California uses two tests, only one really counts in assessing how well students are gaining the knowledge expected of them. That test is the California Standards Test that is aligned with the state’s rigorous academic content standards. The standards lay out the learning requirements in core subjects such as reading, math, science and history. The other test, the Stanford-9 exam, compares student performance in California to a sample of students across the country. However, the Stanford-9 exam is not aligned to California’s standards and hence does not measure what teachers should be teaching in their classrooms.

Thus, when the test results were released and showed Stanford-9 scores up slightly, but standards scores down in the tank, it was the latter result that should concern the public. Indeed, on the standards test, only about a third of California students were at or above the proficiency level in English language arts and math. Proficiency is defined as acquiring the skills necessary for eventual entry into a university.

There is a ray of hope, however. Because the Stanford-9 exam is being phased out, the standards-aligned test will become more important. That means that there will be increased pressure on schools to teach to the standards, something that many districts have been slow to require. It is instructive to note that high-performing schools with high-poverty student populations have achieved success by focusing on the standards. As a principal at one such school says, “Everything we have here is content-standards driven.”

The quality of public education in California leaves a lot to be desired. However, the signposts to a better future have been marked. Let’s hope that schools follow the right path.

With a perspective, I’m Lance Izumi.

Lance Izumi is the Director of Center for School Reform at the California-based Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached via email at lizumi@pacificresearch.org.