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ENLARGE
Melissa Madigan, right, teaches at Ghidotti Early College High School at Sierra College Wednesday.
Find Star test scores
- The California Department of Education has released results for each school in the state from April’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) exams.
- To find the information, visit http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2008.
Click on 2008 STAR Test Results in the left corner.
- Under “Select a Test,” choose “CST Summary” to get a more digestible chart.
- In the upper window, select the county, school district and, if desired, the school.
Click “View Report.”
- Parents already have received their children’s standings by mail.
- To find the information, visit http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2008.
Click on 2008 STAR Test Results in the left corner.
- Under “Select a Test,” choose “CST Summary” to get a more digestible chart.
- In the upper window, select the county, school district and, if desired, the school.
Click “View Report.”
- Parents already have received their children’s standings by mail.
Small classes, lots of attention and a serious commitment to their studies have helped students at Ghidotti Early College High School score exceptionally high on state exams, the school’s principal said Wednesday.
In California’s standardized STAR tests taken in the spring, more than 90 percent of students at the college-prep school in Grass Valley scored at the proficient or advanced levels of English and science. More than 70 percent scored high in history, and half scored high in math, according to the results posted at the state’s Web site (see box at right for how to access the information).
Though educators said they are pleased with this year’s scores across the Nevada Joint Union High School District and note improvements over last year’s scores, the performance at Ghidotti stands out. Ghidotti’s results are among the best in the state as well.
The school’s 121 students “select to be here, and their parents select to be here,” Principal Linda Quinn said. “The culture is very much to do your work here. We just believe they all can do it.”
The school has implemented the AVID program, or Advancement Via Individual Determination. All teachers have been trained to use Socratic seminars, better preparing students for the rigors of college, district Superintendent Ralf Swenson said.
“I want more kids to do it,” Swenson said, adding he is looking at how to expand AVID instruction into other high schools.
The state Department of Education has been encouraging schools since 1995 to incorporate it into the curriculum, especially as a way to prepare disadvantaged students, according to the department’s Web site.
The school’s small size also allows teachers to quickly spot a student who is not performing well, Quinn said. A student in trouble can get help with more teacher attention, tutoring, time at the tutoring center, supervised study and other strategies.
“We go through these steps. We don’t go through the quarter (before intervening),” Quinn said.
Though the school lacks many of the options of a large campus, myriad activities also can distract from academics, Quinn said.
Math: The tough nut
Even for this self-selecting group, mathematics remains a tough subject. Statewide, nearly 43 percent of all students in grades 2 through 11 performed in the proficient or advanced levels of the STAR tests. At Ghidotti, it was half.
State officials want all students at those higher levels in every subject matter.
Educators are asking themselves what the results could mean, Quinn said. Some of the answer could be cultural, she said.
“As a nation, we’ve kind of accepted that some people can do math and some people can’t,” Quinn said. “I’ve had parents say to me, ‘We’re just not a math family.’ But people never come in and say, ‘Oh, we just never learned to read.’”
Educators will be looking at how the math test itself may be different from the English and science tests.
“Is our curriculum less aligned to the test? Or, are there strategies we could be doing?”
“We will continue to try to find ways to be successful” districtwide, Swenson said. “What we’re pushing for is continuous growth.”
Ghidotti opened in August 2006 with a freshman class of 34 students; it now has students in grades 9, 10 and 11. The program is designed to let a student earn a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree in four to five years.
With an A.A. degree from Ghidotti, students can transfer directly to a four-year college — saving two years of college expenses.
The early college program is being tried in high schools across the nation, with 23 in California and 165 in the United States, Quinn said.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
In California’s standardized STAR tests taken in the spring, more than 90 percent of students at the college-prep school in Grass Valley scored at the proficient or advanced levels of English and science. More than 70 percent scored high in history, and half scored high in math, according to the results posted at the state’s Web site (see box at right for how to access the information).
Though educators said they are pleased with this year’s scores across the Nevada Joint Union High School District and note improvements over last year’s scores, the performance at Ghidotti stands out. Ghidotti’s results are among the best in the state as well.
The school’s 121 students “select to be here, and their parents select to be here,” Principal Linda Quinn said. “The culture is very much to do your work here. We just believe they all can do it.”
The school has implemented the AVID program, or Advancement Via Individual Determination. All teachers have been trained to use Socratic seminars, better preparing students for the rigors of college, district Superintendent Ralf Swenson said.
“I want more kids to do it,” Swenson said, adding he is looking at how to expand AVID instruction into other high schools.
The state Department of Education has been encouraging schools since 1995 to incorporate it into the curriculum, especially as a way to prepare disadvantaged students, according to the department’s Web site.
The school’s small size also allows teachers to quickly spot a student who is not performing well, Quinn said. A student in trouble can get help with more teacher attention, tutoring, time at the tutoring center, supervised study and other strategies.
“We go through these steps. We don’t go through the quarter (before intervening),” Quinn said.
Though the school lacks many of the options of a large campus, myriad activities also can distract from academics, Quinn said.
Math: The tough nut
Even for this self-selecting group, mathematics remains a tough subject. Statewide, nearly 43 percent of all students in grades 2 through 11 performed in the proficient or advanced levels of the STAR tests. At Ghidotti, it was half.
State officials want all students at those higher levels in every subject matter.
Educators are asking themselves what the results could mean, Quinn said. Some of the answer could be cultural, she said.
“As a nation, we’ve kind of accepted that some people can do math and some people can’t,” Quinn said. “I’ve had parents say to me, ‘We’re just not a math family.’ But people never come in and say, ‘Oh, we just never learned to read.’”
Educators will be looking at how the math test itself may be different from the English and science tests.
“Is our curriculum less aligned to the test? Or, are there strategies we could be doing?”
“We will continue to try to find ways to be successful” districtwide, Swenson said. “What we’re pushing for is continuous growth.”
Ghidotti opened in August 2006 with a freshman class of 34 students; it now has students in grades 9, 10 and 11. The program is designed to let a student earn a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree in four to five years.
With an A.A. degree from Ghidotti, students can transfer directly to a four-year college — saving two years of college expenses.
The early college program is being tried in high schools across the nation, with 23 in California and 165 in the United States, Quinn said.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
