Los Alamitos Unified School District students’ performance on new online state standardized tests in Math and English Language Arts ranked second when compared with other Orange County districts, according to the results released by California Department of Education. The District’s strong performance on standardized tests, their post-secondary education enrollment rate of 91 percent, and their vision of Advanced Placement (AP) for all is setting graduates up for college and career success.
Last spring, students in grades 3 through 8 and 11, took multiple assessments that measured their ability to analyze problems, think critically and write cohesively using evidence, the principles of the new Common Core standards. The new exams, called the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), are considered more rigorous than the previous Standardized Testing and Reporting program.
In the Los Alamitos Unified School District, 81 percent of students met or exceeded state standards in English and 72 percent in math.
Los Alamitos Unified students far surpassed the average academic proficiency of the 296,000 students across the county who took the tests, as the county average was 53 percent in English and 45 percent in Math.
Not only did the District show some of the greatest gains in achievement in the county, but students in third and fourth grade ranked first in the county in both English and Math.
“The District is proud of and celebrates the growth made on CAASPP assessments,” said Ondrea Reed, assistant superintendent of Education Services.
“We’ve had growth on the percentage of students that met or exceeded standards in every grade level tested in both English and Mathematics. We contribute our test scores to the hard work and dedication of our teaching staff and students, the support of our parent community, and the ongoing collaboration and sharing of best practices amongst teachers and school site administrators,” said Reed
With a focus on graduating students whom are capable of achieving in higher education or a career path of their choosing, the District focuses on multiple sets of data that are correlated with positive student outcomes. The Class of 2016 graduated with 76 percent of students completing A-G college entrance requirements, 65 percent of students taking at least one AP course, and 261 students receiving the State Seal of Biliteracy.
“We are proud that at Los Alamitos High School, there is a greater chance that a graduate would have taken an AP course than not,” said Reed.
“We have consistently promoted AP access for all students and teachers have worked diligently to continually increase our AP passage rate while simultaneously administering more AP exams each school year,” said Reed.
The District administered over 1,900 AP exams last year, with 83.3 percent of total scores being a three or higher.
The District boasts a passage rate that is 21 percent higher than the California average and is the only district in Orange County that has remained on the College Board’s Honor Roll for six straight years.
Ondrea Reed is the assistant superintendent of education services.
