Coastside School District Test Scores Abysmally Low

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Pacifica school test results reveal that only 57 percent of Pacifica public school students met statewide standards in English. An even lower 50 percent passed the test in math. The new tests are based on Common Core State Standards. Low test scores also were reported at other Coastside school districts. Must be the salt air!

School Test Scores

Comments

[Wm. Boyce]

Another thing revealed by the education experts on the radio show I heard was that this test, which by the way is new, and done in a different way, i.e., online and at school, was that the students don't have the typing skills required to answer the questions!

Texting and emailing from one's stupidphone obviously doesn't prepare one for answering test questions correctly.

I've long known that our local schools are mediocre, but that they would be THIS bad, and down there with really low-wealth school districts, is not good news.

[Carl May]

Nobody is blaming the standardized tests for actual student and teacher failures. But there is a large and growing furor over spending huge amounts of class and homework time teaching to standardized tests, especially the "no child left behind" variety, instead of teaching the material itself. This is because much educator and school performance evaluation is now based on these particular test scores; the same goes for school funding. Alternate ways of acquiring the same kinds of basic knowledge and problem-solving skills that may work much better for some students are eliminated because there is no time for them and they may not employ the same jargon necessary to score well on the tests. (Everyone interested in the subject should pull up samples of the tests for various levels to see how they are worded and to see what kinds of answers are expected in order to score well.) Some studies have found standardized test scores have little to do with predicting future academic needs or success for students, themselves. The debate can be easily explored with a bit of Googling.

Can't remember where I saw it, but one poll found 40 percent of teachers had left or had considered leaving teaching because of having to teach to the tests rather than educating their particular students as well as they could. Newcomers are being driven away from the teaching profession by the prospect of having to teach to mundane, mediocre, arbitrarily contrived standardized tests. Emphasis on mindless standardized test-taking and preparation for test-taking is causing some parents who can afford it to move their children to private schools or home teach. Some argue that there is cultural and racial bias in some of the tests. And so on.

To accept, without investigation, that today's standardized tests are a fair and adequate measure of students and educators across the spectrum and to rate one student, teacher, school, district, or community against another based primarily on standardized test scores is to abandon consideration of all else that goes into education, critical thinking, and common sense.

[Head of the Class]

I know. Let's throw even more money at the problem. That's what the teachers want and that's what we keep giving them. Forget that nasty word "DISCIPLINE". You know, the word that the students in India, China, etc. seem to subscribe to so that they can beat the pants off of our students and win the high paying STEM jobs. Not to worry. We can still beat the crap out of them in skateboarding, tattoos, fast food consumption, video nonsense and good, old fashioned loitering.

[Wm. Boyce]

"Based on what is being reported in the S.F. Examiner today, P.S.D. is ahead of many school districts in the state."

50% pass the math test? Whoopee, let's celebrate! It's better than somewhere else. I heard a radio interview in which these tests were discussed with several education experts in which they said that school districts, because of Brown's realignment of budget priorities, have plenty of money. Things had better change by next year's test. Oh yes, and let's blame the test as an excuse. How lame.

[Carl May]

To what degree are these test scores a measure of anything other than ability to take the tests involved?

[www.Pacifica.city]

The optics of 7-Eleven being allowed to rent out Sunset Ridge (the elementary school with the lowest test scores and highest minority population in the district) are truly cringe-worthy.

[Thomas Clifford]

Based on what is being reported in the S.F. Examiner today, P.S.D. is ahead of many school districts in the state. California public schools have ranked near the bottom nationwide for years. SHAMEFUL!!!