BURLINGAME , Sept. 27, 2017– California Teachers Association President Eric Heins issued this statement today about the California Department of Education’s release of 2017 student test scores from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) standardized testing exams measuring English language arts/literacy and mathematics:
“While educators and parents will always know that our students are much more than a test score, the new standardized testing results demonstrate once again how dedicated California’s educators are to providing the learning skills all students deserve. This is only the third year of the complex computer-based tests, yet the results show the gains made in 2016 are being sustained. Momentum matters. These scores come as California high school graduation and college eligibility rates are already at record levels, and participation in college-readiness exams is surging.
“But the test scores only tell part of the story. The story of the ongoing transformation of California public education will be told more accurately by the newly implemented California School Dashboard, which uses multiple measures to provide a fuller picture of progress.
“When it is fully implemented by next year, the California School Dashboard accountability system will be the first step to providing parents, educators and students with the high-tech resources they have long been waiting for. As the Dashboard continues to roll out, through local indicators it will provide a full measure of student success and school climate by measuring test scores, college readiness, English learner progress and graduation and absentee rates, among other factors. Combined with the community involvement in education that the Local Control Funding Formula demands, our students can better prepare for 21st-century college and career successes that lie ahead.”
The 325,000-member California Teachers Association is affiliated with the 3 million-member National Education Association.