Test Scores

AS IF YOU ASKED Earlier this week, I wrote about what appeared to be an effort to steal campaign signs posted by school board incumbent candidate Mike McDonald. Now, McDonald is trying to do away with a campaign tool used by his opponents -- facts. If the stunt weren't so offensive to the truth, it would be funny for its brazenness. McDonald's campaign is telephoning voters to play a recording urging a vote for McDonald. In an excited, almost giddy tone, a male voice introduces himself.

I was pleased to find out at a recent school board meeting that much of what I have read in fliers and in Mr. Rogers' column is false. I was pleased to find out that its members did not violate the rights of an employee or the law surrounding their governing actions. I found out the board is handling matters professionally and courteously, and is informing the public as to the current status of the affairs of our schools and our kids, especially now that several allegations in the lawsuit have been dismissed.

Molly Shore McKinley Elementary School students are getting smarter if their Stanford 9 test results are an indication -- they have made steady gains in math, reading, language and spelling since the 2000 tests. That year, McKinley had the district's lowest elementary Stanford 9 ranking when third graders scored at the 36th percentile in reading, 14 points below the national average. When the students advanced to the fourth grade, their rank increased to the 47th percentile, and this year, as fifth graders, they achieved a 51st percentile ranking.

Maya Kukes BURBANK -- Ask different people what they think of the standardized tests underway at Burbank Unified School District schools and the answers will probably all be different. Local teachers even have varying opinions of the tests. The California Standardized Testing and Reporting program began Thursday and ends May 22. Students in grades two through 11 are tested in subjects like reading and math. The test combines administration of two exams -- the General Achievement Test, also known as the SAT 9, and the California Standards Examination.

Gary Moskowitz MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- Janice Jones will speak to the Burbank High School Parent Teacher Student Assn. next week about how to improve Academic Performance Index scores. Jones is a consultant hired by the Burbank Unified School District to help improve district scores on the API. The Burbank High PTSA meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the library at Burbank High School, 902 N. 3rd St. All Burbank High parents and interested community members are invited to attend, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Gary Moskowitz BURBANK -- Scoring well on the 2001 Academic Performance Index was a matter of reestablishing priorities for Linda Reksten, principal at Burbank's Walt Disney Elementary School. Disney, whose overall 2001 API score was 785, rose 88 points from the school's score of 697 last year. It was the highest improvement in the district, and Reksten attributes the school's growth to interim assessments done consistently throughout the school year for each individual student.

Karen S. Kim BURBANK UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT The California Department of Education released Stanford 9 test scores for Burbank schools Wednesday. Scores from 2000 and 2001 reflect a percentile rank, with 50 being the national average. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Reading 00 01 Language 00 01 Math 00 01 Spelling 00 01 DISNEY Grade 2 53 68 58 73 60 78 58 74 Grade 3 45 47 55 55 59 67 55 59 Grade 4 49 57 53 62 55 68 48 48 Grade 5 43 54 47 69 50 75 43 52 EDISON Grade 2 59 61 66 69 58 63 52 59 Grade 3 62 59 65 67 68 73 58 60 Grade 4 55 63 57 62 56 67 52 58 Grade 5 51 60 53 61 50 61 46 54 EMERSON Grade 2 55 50 61 57 62 60 53 53 Grade 3 53 61 58 69 57 73 53 63 Grade 4 58 59 62 63 64 58 52 51 Grade 5 49 63 54 72 46 73 46 59 HARTE Grade 2 50 55 57 60 52 57 50 54 Grade 3 51 59 58 65 64 70 49 59 Grade 4 55 60 56 66 60 74 50 57 Grade 5 54 62 56 70 50 67 57 67 JEFFERSON Grade 2 58 71 63 73 65 77 59 65 Grade 3 59 64 63 68 63 70 57 66 Grade 4 63 65 64 71 67 74 56 64 Grade 5 60 61 64 72 68 75 56 59 MCKINLEY Grade 2 48 50 51 55 53 67 47 54 Grade 3 39 48 44 49 47 66 46 50 Grade 4 41 47 45 50 49 55 44 43 Grade 5 41 50 48 60 49 67 39 51 MILLER Grade 2 52 49 52 44 54 54 51 53 Grade 3 48 49 33 59 60 75 51 55 Grade 4 50 57 57 65 61 68 49 45 Grade 5 44 40 54 59 50 64 45 44 ...

Tim Willert and Irma Lemus BURBANK -- While they agree that Burbank schools need to improve academic performance, school board candidates Glen Forsch, Patricia Burnett and Connie Lackey disagree about where academic emphasis should be. Forsch, a 52-year-old businessman, is challenging incumbents Lackey and Burnett for two open seats in the Feb. 27 city election. Forsch blames the district for all 16 of its schools failing to reach the state's 2000 Academic Performance Index target of 800, and also because two schools did not qualify for Distinguished Schools status.

Believe it or not, the academic train of failing students careening wildly out of control down the rotting railroad tracks and heading for a wreck at the end of the line seems to have slowed down a bit. How do we know this? Test scores, without which there would be no measurement of achievement nor proof that retention of classroom lectures and textbook readings is possible. Thankfully, the 2000 Academic Performance Index scores released last month have proven that, if given a chance and a teacher with incentive, students can learn their lessons well enough to make a pleasing grade on those fear-inducing standardized tests.

David Aponik As I begin my 20th year with the Burbank Unified School District, and my 27th year as an educator, I find myself extremely encouraged and excited about where we are as a school district and where we are going. Our district's emphases on: "back to basics" education; early literacy; individualized learning plans; specialized reading classes; content and performance standards; traditional math; comprehensive staff development; school-to-career education; smaller class sizes; enhanced parent involvement; high expectations for all students; partnerships; renovated and enhanced work and learning environments; after-school and summer intervention programs; accountability; and recruitment and retention of the highest quality of employees, have resulted in higher academic achievement by our students.