Press Release Details
SFUSD students’ English and math scores show upward trend
The California Department of Education (CDE) released the results of the 2017 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Last spring, approximately 26,000 SFUSD students in grades 3 to 8 and 11 took these state assessments.
SFUSD is the only large urban school district in the state to have more than half its students meet or exceed Common Core Standards for both ELA (54 percent) and math (51 percent).
California is now in its third year of the CAASPP testing program, and SFUSD student scores continue to show an upward trend, with both ELA and math proficiency rates increasing three percentage points over two years.
“Focusing on the trend is more important than any one year of data, and we’re happy to see an upward trend. Most of all, it’s the hard work of teachers and students that has led to annual improvements,” said SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews.
SFUSD students in grades 6 to 8 showed particularly significant gains over two years: middle school students who met or exceeded state standards increased by five percentage points in ELA and three percentage points in math.
SFUSD and Statewide Results for 2017 CAASPP by Grade Level
While both African American and Latino students maintained or showed minimal growth in last year’s CAASPP results, SFUSD continues to see an achievement gap.
“Closing the opportunity gap remains our top priority,” said Superintendent Matthews, who became SFUSD’s superintendent in May 2017.
“As I continue to listen and learn through school visits and community meetings, I see overwhelming support for this priority. I am focused on clarifying what is working and what isn’t so we can do more to accelerate our students’ academic growth.”
About CAASPP
The CAASPP test was first implemented during the 2014-15 school year and replaced the Standardized Testing and Reporting System (STAR) test. CAASPP includes a number of assessments, but the most widely given are the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, which evaluate student progress on the California standards in the mathematics and English Language Arts/literacy. CAASPP consists of two parts. The first is an adaptive test taken on a computer that gives students different follow-up questions based on their answers, thereby providing a more refined picture of a student’s abilities. Second is a performance task that challenges students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. The two parts measure depth of understanding, writing, research, and problem-solving skills.
The CDE’s CAASPP results website contains the results broken down by grade, gender, ethnic groups, and demographics.
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Page updated on 09/27/17