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Schools

Long Beach Schools Show Gains on State Test Scores

Improvements in all core subjects, along with a higher graduation rate than the national average, gave the LBUSD something to cheer about.

For the ninth consecutive year, state test scores for students in the Long Beach Unified School District continued their upward trend as evidenced with Monday’s release of data from the California Department of Education.

This year’s scores showed growth in most grade levels and subject areas here, with Long Beach surpassing the state in many areas while posting dramatic improvement in several cases.

The improved scores come despite years of severe budget cuts to public education in California.

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“It was a hard year, but it just shows you what great teachers and other people we have in Long Beach,” LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser told the local Board of Education today at a public meeting where district staff presented the latest data. “I think everyone should take at least five seconds to celebrate,” Steinhauser said, prompting a chuckle from the audience.

Among the accomplishments of the district:

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  • All elementary grades exceeded state averages in core subjects of English and math
  • English scored dramatically improved in second, third and sixth grades
  • Significant gains in history and science, particularly in physics – 72 percent of physics students scored proficient or above, up 6 percent over last year.

Long Beach data do not yet include numbers from year-round schools due to their later testing schedules, and local Physical Fitness test results remain unofficial and are subject to significant change.

The California Department of Education’s news release is available here: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr11/yr11rel55.asp

In all of the elementary grades (K-5), Long Beach surpassed state averages in English and math despite having a more challenging student population in terms of poverty and language.

Across almost all grade levels, local schools showed gains in English scores, with dramatic improvements in second, third and sixth grades, which respectively saw increases of 7, 9 and 5 percent in the number of students scoring proficient or above. Grades nine and 10 showed a slight dip of 1 percent in English but respectively remained 14 and 12 percent higher than in 2003.

Similarly in math, many grade levels here showed gains in proficiency.

While eighth grade algebra showed a 4 percent dip (with 65 percent of eighth grade algebra students now proficient or better), 540 more students took the class this year as part of the school district’s continuing push to enroll more middle schoolers in this college gateway course.

The result was that roughly 200 more students this year were proficient in eighth grade algebra compared to last year, even though the overall proficiency rate decreased slightly.

Long Beach also showed significant gains in history and science, with especially strong gains in physics, where 72 percent of physics students scored proficient or above, up 6 percent over last year.

Far more students here are taking advanced science courses in high school than just a few years ago. For instance, 549 students took physics last year, compared to only 114 students in 2003.  The increase in such course taking is attributed in part to the proliferation of “smaller learning communities” at the high schools, many of which focus on science-related themes.

The gains in Long Beach were released on the heels of graduation rate data last week that showed LBUSD outperforming the state, with a graduation rate of 78.8 percent here compared to the state’s 74.4 percent.

Superintendent Steinhauser told the school board that Long Beach has seen steady and significant gains in student achievement even since being recognized as one of America’s best urban school systems in 2003, when LBUSD won the national Broad Prize for Urban Education.

“We’ve made huge gains since then,” Steinhauser said. “We should all be proud.”

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