Statement from California School Boards Association President Chris Ungar on the Release of Statewide Test Results
SACRAMENTO, Calif., (August 24, 2016) – “The CAASPP test results provide a mixed – and incomplete –picture of the state of public education in California. We’re encouraged by the progress we saw since year one of the new online assessments and expect to see more growth in the future,” said CSBA President Chris Ungar. “Yet, the modest improvement comes against an alarming backdrop. Less than half of California’s students met or exceeded standards in English and Math and that figure drops to about a third for African-American students, Latino students and low-income students of all ethnicities, and to roughly one out of seven for English Learner students and students with disabilities.”
“If we are to close the achievement gap and create a public school system that offers consistently high levels of education, we need to be focused much more intentionally on questions of equity and questions of adequacy. It goes beyond test scores – we must give districts and schools the level of resources, innovation and flexibility required to devise solutions that meet the needs of their specific student populations. We must prioritize efforts to strengthen teaching and learning, empower parents with the knowledge to support student learning at home and provide districts with technical assistance that drives continuous improvement for all students, regardless of background.”
CSBA is a nonprofit association representing nearly 1,000 PreK-12 school districts and county offices of education throughout California.