Terrible grades: MUSD falls short on state tests
Every school ranked ‘low to very low’ Madera Unified School District received an updated, color-coded report card from the state this week, but no one celebrated the results.
The new assessment, labeled the “California School Dashboard,” used data from state tests taken in the spring of 2016 and comparisons with the 2015 tests to rank student performance in grades 3-8 at five levels: Very High, High, Medium, Low, and Very Low.
Each school’s placement on this scale was determined by how far its scores deviated from the minimum range required to meet state standards in specified areas. Scores at or above this goal received a Very High, High, or Medium placement. Scores below the minimum range were placed at the Low or Very Low level.
All MUSD schools were in the Low or Very Low level in English and Math and therefore did not meet state standards of performance in those areas.
In a statement to the Tribune, MUSD Board President Al Galvez acknowledged the assessment as a “powerful tool that focuses on what we know is our core mission — teaching and learning.” He said the board shares the concerns of staff, parents and the community and would “aggressively make necessary improvements” to school programs.
“The Governing Board and district leadership will work with everyone in our schools and the wider community to bring all our best ideas and practices to the forefront,” he said. “Through staffing, program reviews, new academic programs, and unflinching accountability or other means, the Madera Unified Board of Trustees will set goals with the highest expectations and work to implement them so ‘the futures of our children are determined by their aspirations and not bound by their circumstances.’”
California’s testing and assessment program will continue in May when students will take the 2017 state tests. The results of that battery of tests will be announced in August. Unlike the dashboard assessment, they will include data from both high schools.
The results
According to the dashboard, MUSD’s distance from state goals was -54.1 points in English/language arts and -80.3 points in math.
By comparison, Fresno Unified was –51.1 in English and –73.4 in math, Clovis Unified was +32.6 in English and +11.7 in math, Central Unified was -30.5 in English and -54.4 in math, Sanger Unified was -21.5 in English and -34.6 in math, and Golden Valley Unified was +5.9 in English and -17.9 in math.
Below are MUSD school rankings in English with the points below the minimum required to meet state standards in parenthesis.
Low: Sherman Thomas Charter School (-8.8), Thomas Jefferson Middle School (-25.4), Dixieland (-30.2), Eastin-Arcola (-30.8), John Adams (-31.7), Berenda (-32.6), Lincoln (-32.7), Pershing (-39.2), Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy (-42), Desmond Middle School (-45), La Vina (-45.7), Howard (-49.7), James Monroe (-59.3), Nishimoto (-60.3), Cesar Chavez (-61.2), Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School (-67.3), and Millview (-68.1).
Very Low: Parkwood (-71.7), Alpha (-72.1), Sierra Vista (-73.9), Washington (-75.8), and Madison (-89.9).
Below are MUSD school rankings in Math with the points below the minimum required to meet state standards in parenthesis.
Low: Sherman Thomas Charter School (-29.8), Eastin-Arcola (-35.2), Pershing (-48.3), Berenda (-51.2), Dixieland (-52), Lincoln (-52.1), La Vina (-55.2), John Adams (-60.7), Howard (-64), Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy (-64.5), Monroe (-67.6), Nishimoto (-72), Millview (-74.5), Cesar Chavez (-76.2), Sierra Vista (-77.9), Thomas Jefferson (-79.5), Parkwood (-83.3), Alpha (-84.6), Washington (-85.7), and Madison (-94.1).
Very Low: Desmond Middle School (-106) and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School (-132.7).
