Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program:

Summary of 2010 Results

Background

• The 2010 STAR Program consists of four key components, including the
California Standards Tests (CSTs); the California Modified Assessment
(CMA); the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA); and the
Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS).

• In spring 2010, the following CSTs were required for all students:
o English–language arts (ELA) for grades two through eleven
o Mathematics for grades two through nine
o Science for grades five, eight, and ten (life science)
o History–social science for grades eight and eleven (U.S. history)

• Students also were able to take end-of-course tests in mathematics

(grades seven through eleven), science (grades nine through eleven), and
history–social science (grades nine through eleven) if they were
scheduled to complete the corresponding courses by the end of the school
year.

• In 2010, students who had an individualized education program (IEP) and

met the State Board of Education-adopted eligibility criteria were able to
take the CMA for ELA in grades three through nine, the CMA for
mathematics in grades three through seven, the CMA for Algebra I, and
the CMA for science in grades five, eight, and ten (life science) instead of
the corresponding grade-level and content-area CSTs. Students in grade
eight who took the CMA for ELA and/or science were also required to take
the CST for history–social science.

• Students with disabilities who were unable to take the CSTs with
accommodations or modifications or were unable to take the CMA with
accommodations took the CAPA in ELA, mathematics, and science
(approximately 1 percent of the tested population).

• Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) who either received instruction in

Spanish or were enrolled in a school in the United States for less than 12
months were required to take the STS. At the option of the school district,
schools may have also tested Spanish-speaking ELs who had been in
school in the United States 12 months or more who were not receiving
instruction in Spanish. Students who completed the STS also completed
the grade-level CST and/or CMA (if designated in the student’s IEP).

Reporting STAR Program Results

 • Five performance levels are used for reporting the results for all
assessments in the STAR Program: advanced; proficient; basic; below
basic; and far below basic. The state target is for all students to score at
the proficient level or above (advanced). The percentage of students
scoring at each performance level are reported by grade and subject for
all students and for student subgroups.

• With the inclusion of the CMA in the STAR Program, caution may be
needed when interpreting STAR results at the district and school level
depending on the number of students who were assessed using the CMA.

• Because the CMA for ELA in grade nine, the CMA for grade ten (life
science), and the CMA for Algebra I are in the standard-setting process,
the proficiency levels for these assessments have not yet been assigned.
Student reports, therefore, will only show raw scores and the percent of
items correct in these grades and subjects.

Summary of CST Results

A summary of statewide student performance on the CSTs follows, organized by

content area. Note that while final data for years 2003 through 2009 are
available, the results reported for 2010 are preliminary and include only the
results for students who tested through June 30, 2010.

English–Language Arts

• The percentage of students in grades two through eleven scoring at the

proficient level and above increased approximately 17 percentage points
between 2003 and 2010. The one-year increase in 2010 was 2
percentage points (see Table 1).

• Since 2003, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level

and above in ELA in grade four increased by 24 percentage points; in
grade five by 22 percentage points; in grade eight by 23 percentage
points; in grade six by 20 percentage points; and in grade seven by 19
percentage points. In 2010, grade eight showed the greatest one-year
increase of 6 percentage points
(see Table 1).

• The percentage of students in grades two through eleven scoring at the

below basic and far below basic levels decreased approximately 11
percentage points between 2003 and 2010 (see Table 2).

• The percentage of students scoring at the below basic and far below basic
levels in grade eight decreased by 16 percentage points since 2003.
Grades five and seven showed the next greatest decrease in the
percentage scoring below basic and far below basic with a decrease of 14
 percentage points. The greatest one-year decrease of 5 percentage points
was shown by students in grade eleven. The next greatest one-year
decrease of 4 percentage points was shown by students in grade three
(see Table 2).

• The gap in achievement between Black or African American students and

white students has decreased 1 percentage point from 2003 to 2010. The
gap in achievement between Hispanic or Latino students and white
students has decreased by 4 percentage points from 2003 to 2010 (see
Tables 16 and 17).

• Filipino students showing the greatest improvement since 2003 in

achieving the proficient level and above (an increase of 21 percentage
points). Hispanic or Latino students and Asian students increased their
achievement of the proficient level and above by 20 percentage points.
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students and Black or African
American students increased their achievement of the proficient level and
above by 17 percentage points. White students increased their
achievement of the proficient level and above by 16 percentage points.
American Indian or Alaskan Native students increased their achievement
of the proficient level and above by 14 percentage points (see Table 3).

• For 2010, the percentage of not economically disadvantaged Black or

African American students achieving the proficient level and above (50
percent) is one point lower than the percentage of economically
disadvantaged white students achieving the proficient level and above (51
percent). The percentage of not economically disadvantaged Hispanic or
Latino students achieving the proficient level and above (54 percent) is
three points above that of the economically disadvantaged white students
(see Tables 4 and 5).

Mathematics

• In 2010, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level and

above in mathematics showed a one-year increase of approximately 2
percentage points. From 2003 to 2010, the overall percentage of students
scoring at the proficient level and above increased by 13 percentage
points (see Table 6).

• From 2009 to 2010, all grade-level and end-of-course results showed an

increase in the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level and
above, except for grade two. The test results for grade two showed a 1
percentage point decrease (see Table 6).

• Between 2003 and 2010, the increase in the percentage of students in

grades three through seven achieving the proficient level and above
reached double digits: grade three, 19 percentage points; grade four, 23
 percentage points; grade five, 25 percentage points; grade six, 18
percentage points; and grade seven, 19 percentage points (see Table 6).

• The largest one-year increase from 2009 to 2010 was 6 percentage points
in grade seven mathematics, going from 43 percent to 49 percent of
students achieving the proficient level and above. The second largest one-
year increase was 4 percentage points in Summative High School
Mathematics, going from 50 percent to 54 percent of students achieving
the proficient level and above (see Table 6).

• In 2010, the percentage of students scoring at the below basic and far
below basic levels in mathematics showed a one-year decrease of
approximately 2 percentage points. From 2003 to 2010, the overall
percentage of students scoring at the below basic and far below basic
levels decreased by 10 percentage points (see Table 7).

• The number of students taking Algebra I test showed, for the first time
since 2003, a decrease of 8,287 between 2009 and 2010. The numbers of
students taking Geometry, Algebra II, and Summative High School
Mathematics tests continued the upward trend with an increase of 10,744,
14,227, and 6,925, respectively (see Table 8).

• The ethnic subgroups of students showing the greatest improvement since

2003 in achieving the proficient level and above were Filipino students and
Hispanic or Latino students with an increase of 16 percentage points.
Asian students increased their achievement of the proficient level and
above by 14 percentage points, followed by Black or African American
students and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students by 13
percentage points. White students increased their achievement of the
proficient level and above by 12 percentage points. American Indian or
Alaskan Native students increased their achievement of the proficient level
and above by 11 percentage points (see Table 9).

• The gap in achievement between Hispanic or Latino students and white

students decreased by 4 percentage points from 2003 to 2010. The gap in
achievement between Black or African American students and white
students declined by 1 percentage point from 2003 to 2010 (see Tables 16
and 17).

Science

• In 2010, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level and

above increased by 4 percentage points across all grade levels. Grade
five showed the greatest one-year increase of 7 percentage points.
Notable gains were also seen in all grade levels since these assessments
were first administered (see Table 12).
 • While the percentage of students achieving proficient and above has
increased in all end-of-course tests, physics had the greatest increase of
20 percentage points, since 2003. Gains were 3 percentage points over
last year (see Table 13).

• In 2010, approximately 1.17 million students in grades nine through eleven

took science end-of-course tests. Between 2009 and 2010, there was an
increase in the number of students taking biology of 10,787 students and
an increase for chemistry of 9,527 students. Since 2003, the number of
students taking the end-of-course biology test increased by 211,961
students. The second largest seven-year increase was 128,757 students
in Earth Science. Within the same period, notably, the number of students
taking the end-of-course chemistry test increased by 103,342 students
(see Table 14).

History–Social Science

• The number of students who scored at the proficient level and above on
the grade eight test increased by 5 percentage points since 2009 and 20
percentage points between the years of 2003 and 2010 (see Table 15).

• On the grade eleven U.S. History test, students who achieved the
proficient level and above showed an 11 percentage point gain between
the years of 2003 and 2010 (see Table 15).

• The percentage of students in grades nine, ten and eleven who achieved
at the proficient level or above on the end-of-course World History test
increased by 6 percentage points since 2009 (see Table 15).

Summary of CMA Results

• The largest increases in the percentage of students scoring at the

proficient level and above, from 2008 to 2010, were for Mathematics in
grade five (from 31 to 39) at 8 percentage points and for science in grade
five at 9 percentage points (from 36 to 45) (see Table 18).

• The CMA for mathematics percentage of students scoring at the proficient

level and above in grade three increased by 5 percentage points, in grade
four by 6 percentage points, and in grade five by 8 percentage points from
2008 to 2010 (see Table 18).

• For CMA, grades three through five were first administered in 2008 and
grades six through eight were first administered in 2009.

Summary of STS Results

• From 2008 to 2010, the majority of the STS results for reading/language
arts (RLA) and mathematics showed an increase in the percentage of
students scoring at the proficient level and above. The test results for
grade two RLA showed no increase (see Table 19).

• The largest increase in the percentage of students scoring at the proficient

level and above for RLA from 2008 to 2010 was 4 percentage points in
grade four, from 30 to 34. (see Table 19).

• For mathematics, the largest increase in students achieving at the

proficient level and above from 2008 to 2010 was in grade four, which
increased by 9 percentage points from 48 to 57. Grades two and three
mathematics showed increases of 5 percentage points from 2008 to 2010
(see Table 19).