CVHS Scores Strong on the SBAC
The CVHS SBAC scores increased in 2020-21 despite the pandemic, with 84.99% meeting or exceeding the standard in ELA and 86.34% meeting or exceeding the standard in math. In 2018-2019, 67.92% met or exceeded the standard in ELA and 59.81% met or exceeded the standard in math.
“It is very difficult to know the real impacts the pandemic has had on SBAC scores,” said Assistant Principal Steven Hendee. “Although the who tested and the process essentially remained unchanged there were so many additional factors that came into play; online vs. in person testing, including student engagement, and their preparation for the test.”
Over the pandemic, most students participated in distanced or hybrid learning for the majority of the school year. Although CVHS saw an increase in scores over the pandemic, the state of California as a whole saw a slight decrease. In 2018-2019, 51.10% met or exceeded the standard in ELA and 39.73% met or exceeded the standard in math. This year, only 49.01% met or exceeded the standard in ELA, and 33.76% met or exceeded the standard in math.
“Grade-level Smarter Balanced results in math and English language arts generally show academic progress but at a slower rate than in prior years,” said Tony Thurmond, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Communications Division in the California Department of Education’s press release on the standardized testing.
To account for the loss of education over the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 86 last year which supplies $4.6 billion to expand student support. Eighty-nine percent of school districts in California reportedly have started offering new learning opportunities such as tutoring and mental health services.
“The pandemic has affected students differently,” said Counselor Amanda Maloney. “For those students who experienced social and emotional challenges due to distance learning and other impacts of the pandemic, I think it is important to fund and support mental health agencies. Student’s mental health is key to academic success.”
This year, 11th and 12th graders will take the SBAC test, with 11th graders taking the normal English Language Arts and Math test and 12th graders taking a science-only test. The test will be administered in person through the familiar computer based platform from April 11-22.
This is great to hear that the Sbac score for both ELA and Math at CVHS has increased. It really surprised me that the increase was dramatic, for instance, the math scores were 59.81% in 2018-2019 and have increased to 86.34% as of the school year 2021-2022. I think after hearing this information about the SBAC scores increasing, many faculty members are proud of the students. It’s also great that the Governor of California has added more funding to support students with needs like their mental health or academically.
This is very interesting to see since I wasn’t expecting such a huge increase in the percentage exceeding standards for the SBAC. It is also cool to see that in-person learning has benefited us in retaining the information that we learned. I hope that the scores will continue to rise over the next couple school years.
I am glad the scores went up, but I wonder if cheating played a factor in this due to the pandemic and online testing.