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2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

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Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#5

Not being good at Math is not that big of deal but not being proficient at your own native language seems inexcusable.

Is English the native language for most of California?

Wow, that's actually an element of these standardized tests I've never thought of before - that ESL folks would do a big part in shifting numbers around due to unfamiliarity with the language. Thank you.

Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#6

Not being good at Math is not that big of deal but not being proficient at your own native language seems inexcusable.

Is English the native language for most of California?

Yes-- it's about 65% English, 28% Spanish.

Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#7
"California isn’t alone in its stagnating scores and in fact compares favorably with the 12 other states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands, that administered the same tests last spring from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Scores decreased in every state, and California’s decline was about the smallest, retired educational testing specialist Douglas McRae said."

This is the most important sentence in the article. It points to a problem in the test itself - California's students didn't just get magically stupider.

Standardized testing isn't a particularly good way to gauge schools' ability to prepare students for college or for the 'real world.' Unfortunately, our K-12 public education system is broken and the politics of fixing it are even more broken, so this is what we get.

Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#8

Not being good at Math is not that big of deal but not being proficient at your own native language seems inexcusable.

Is English the native language for most of California?

Not only that, but also - language is more of a skill, a habit, which grows and evolves with circumstances, while math is a "study", with objects, operations, rules, processes, correctness criteria etc.

Eventually both are needed - as well as computers - but how to get there, opinions can differ widely.

Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#9

Not being good at Math is not that big of deal but not being proficient at your own native language seems inexcusable.

Is English the native language for most of California?

While there is no "official" language for the United States (and thus California), it is widely considered that English is the de facto national language. It is the majority language for both the country and California.

So having difficulty with English is a really, really bad thing for these students.

Re: 2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?

#10
It has everything to do with home life and environment. No classroom within the expected margins of quality can overcome a negative home life that does not value education and encourage student achievement.

Wealth and cultural/familial values are the major culprits.

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