Why Calif. students are "still struggling"
by Stephen Krashen

Sent to the Los Angeles Times, October 20

<>Re: California Students Are Still Struggling, October 20

In 1992 California’s fourth graders scored last in the
country on the NAEP (National Assessment of
Educational Progress) fourth grade reading test.
Critics blamed this dismal performance on whole
language.  As a result, all traces of whole language
were purged from California and a strict, “systematic
intensive” phonics approach was mandated.  Thirteen
years later, after over a decade of this extremist
approach to phonics, California’s scores are still in
the basement, tied for next to last with three other
states, with no significant improvement since NAEP
scores were first analyzed by state in 1992.  The
problem, obviously, was not whole language.

State officials now blame the low test scores on the
high percentage of English learners, but researchers
at Rand concluded last year that California’s low
ranking was not connected to California’s high
percentage of language minority students.

The real problem is still ignored: Studies
consistently show a strong relationship between access
to books and how well children read. California has
the worst school libraries in the US and ranks among
the worst in public libraries in the US.  This was
true a decade ago and is still true today. And we are
doing nothing about it: The state now invests only 3%
of the national average in school libraries, and half
the national average on public libraries.

Stephen Krashen, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California




California Students Are Still Struggling

Reading and math test scores for fourth- and
eighth-graders rank near the bottom in the nation. One
official cites language difficulties.
 By Emma Vaughn
 Times Staff Writer

 October 20, 2005

 WASHINGTON — Despite slight gains in math scores,
California fourth- and eighth-grade students rank
among the lowest nationally in mathematics and
reading, test results released Wednesday showed.

 With 40% of students below the basic proficiency
level, California eighth-graders' reading scores are
the third-lowest in the nation after Hawaii and the
District of Columbia.

 The results are from the 2005 National Assessment of
Educational Progress, which bills itself as "the
nation's report card." Federal law requires that the
exam, which measures student achievement in specific
subjects, be given periodically; the last time was in
2003.

 Nationally, the test showed improvements in math and
reading for fourth-graders. The results were split for
eighth-graders, with math scores increasing slightly
and reading scores dropping.

 "No matter how you look at this data, California is
at the bottom," said Russlynn Ali, executive director
of the Education Trust — West, an Oakland advocacy
group that works to improve schools throughout
California, particularly those serving low-income and
minority students. "There is something systematically
wrong with the way we approach educating all students
in this state."

 State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
attributed California's low scores to the number of
students permitted to take the test who were learning
English.

 "We accepted a higher proportion of English-learner
students than any other state in the country,"
O'Connell said. "Our exclusion rate of English
learners was 12%, while Texas' exclusion rate was
37.5% and New York's was 29%."

 Although math scores in California remain
significantly below the national average, there has
been consistent improvement over the last 15 years.

 Results showed that 28% of California fourth-graders
were proficient or better in math, up 3 percentage
points from 2003 and 15 percentage points from 1992.
Eighth-grade improvement in math was not as
significant but managed to be the highest of the
decade, with 22% at or above the proficiency level.
The results can be found online at

 "It is really puzzling because we have grade-by-grade
content standards in both reading and mathematics,"
said Stanford University education professor Michael
Kirst. "But it appears that these are only paying off
for mathematics. This really calls for a deeper
exploration into why mathematics is doing so much
better."

 More than 640,000 students nationwide were given the
2005 test, which rates academic performance on three
levels: basic, proficient or advanced. Department of
Education standards define proficient as "demonstrated
competency over challenging subject matter."

 The top-performing students in both grades and
subjects came from Massachusetts, where 44% of
students were above the proficiency level in reading.

 Despite significant improvements in both tests, the
District of Columbia averaged the lowest scores across
the board, with 69% of eighth-graders and 55% of
fourth-graders scoring below the basic level in
mathematics.

 California remains near the bottom in part because
the exam is not in sync with the content taught in the
state's classrooms, O'Connell said.

 "Results on our statewide tests, which are aligned to
our rigorous standards, indicate that a focus on high
expectations is leading to steady gains in student
achievement," he said.

 Although California's education standards are
regarded as the most rigorous in the nation, the
state's curriculum is doing little to improve
performance, Ali said.

 "The state's results clearly demonstrate that we
still are not doing what is needed to help these older
students build the reading skills they will need to
deal with increasingly complex high school courses,"
said former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, president of
the Alliance for Excellent Education, a nonprofit
education advocacy group.

 Overall scores in California reflect many of the
national trends, with fourth-graders performing
markedly better than eighth-graders in math and
reading. Nationwide, math scores among fourth-graders
were up for every major racial and ethnic group since
the 2003 test.

 Some education experts attribute the disparity to a
long-term trend of dwindling academic focus on older
students.

 "It's time we got very serious about bringing reform
to our secondary schools, particularly to help older
students grasp the critical reading skills they will
need to be successful in high school, college and the
workplace," said Kati Haycock, director of the
Education Trust.

 Educators said the scores offered several pieces of
good news, including African American and Latino
students scoring significant increases in math and
reading.

 But big gaps remain among ethnic groups, with Asian
and white students scoring more than 20% higher than
other ethnic groups in every category.

 At a meeting Wednesday with Education Secretary
Margaret Spellings, President Bush called the report
encouraging and said it reflected the progress of No
Child Left Behind, the administration's education
policy initiative approved in 2002.

 "It shows there's an achievement gap in America that
is closing; that minority students, particularly in
fourth-grade math and fourth-grade reading, are
beginning to catch up with their Anglo counterparts,"
Bush said.

 But Monty Neill, co-director of the National Center
for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit organization
that opposes standardized testing in college
admissions, said the results reflected the failure of
No Child Left Behind to improve academic performance.

 "The drill-and-kill curriculum that accompanies
high-stakes, one-size-fits-all testing programs
undermines rather than improves the quality of
education," Neill said. "It's time to abandon the
failed test-and-punish quick fix and get on with the
hard work of identifying the real causes of student
learning problems."

 Many education experts said states were not given
enough time to show progress.

 "It is easy to over-interpret short-term changes,"
said Brian Stecher, a senior social scientist at the
Rand Corp. in Santa Monica. "I wouldn't expect
initiatives taken up in 2003 to have dramatic effects
on the scores of these recent tests."
 
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