SBAC scores suffer shortfall

2023 SBAC test results from CVHS show a 6.18 percent decrease in passing scores compared to 2022.

In the 2022 SBAC English section results, 78.26% of test takers met or exceeded the standard compared to 72.08% in 2023. In the math section, 58.45% met or exceeded the standard in 2022 compared to 52.27% in 2023.

“I think that there was a drop in scores because a lot of people don’t know the purpose of the SBAC whereas everyone knows the benefits of doing well on tests like the SAT, ACT, and finals exams,” said senior Dhruv Shah.

“The pandemic still has a big impact on SBAC scores… This is a group of students that are younger and who had significant challenges in accessing their learning three years ago,” said Assistant Principal Steven Hendee.

Passing scores have been trending upward since 2016. However, the results from 2023 follow a downward trend to 2016 levels. 

“I think the drop in scores is a mix between the way that Covid has affected how students view education and their seriousness towards their education,” said history teacher Juan Escalante. “Students feel like they deserve grades rather than they need to earn them and they don’t care about these types of tests enough.”

“It sometimes feels impossible for students to really learn everything that is expected… We need to try to improve teaching, learning, and understanding first and then see if that makes an impact on our SBAC scores,” said Hendee.

Castro Valley Unified School District’s scores are still over 50% higher than California’s average, and Castro Valley has the third highest scores compared to local districts such as Alameda, Dublin, Hayward, New Haven, Pleasanton, and San Leandro.

“I think Castro Valley follows the trends in education as they go. I’m hopeful that it will trend up, but the pandemic provided some significant challenges,” said Hendee.