Sent to the Los Angeles Times, 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

http://www.nationsreportcard.gov .

 "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."