Rancho Santa Fe School STAR test results stellar

By Karen Billing

According to their STAR test results, more and more students at R. Roger Rowe are meeting the district’s goal to achieve 90 percent proficiency or advanced levels in English language arts (ELA) and math.

In a report given at the Nov. 3 Rancho Santa Fe School District meeting, Assistant Superintendent Cindy Schaub said that the school saw increases in the number of students proficient and advanced in five grade levels in both ELA and math.

Some were way over the 90 percent target, with the eighth-graders scoring 98 percent proficient and advanced in ELA.

“Ninety-eight is an amazing number,” Schaub said. “Real kudos to our middle school team.”

Only two grade levels didn’t see growth in their math proficiency, while third-graders jumped to 97 percent. The district has been working really hard to target its fifth- and sixth-graders who, in 2004, were scoring in the 70th percentile. Now both have hit 88 percent, their scores are the highest they’ve ever been.

One of the district’s other goals is to improve the subgroup scores, particularly students with disabilities and English learners. English learners improved 20 points to score 850 (1,000 is the highest score). The students with disabilities took a “huge leap,” improving 24 points to a score of 763. The subgroup is performing about on par with neighboring school districts, such as Del Mar Union School District and Solana Beach School District, but Schaub said it’s a little bit like comparing apples to oranges as there are varied levels of disabilities and differences in the population — RSF has under 50 students with disabilities.

“While subgroup API increased, special education students still represent an achievement gap for Rancho Santa Fe,” Schaub said.

Districtwide the API score is up five points, to a 951. Schaub said that the district will continue working toward keeping students learning at high levels and making growth. Importantly, she said, teachers keep discussions focused on each and every student, not just numerical data.