CALIFORNIA LEARNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (CLAS) Explanatory Notes for the 1993 SCHOOL AND DISTRICT SUMMARY of Results from the CLAS Grade Level Performance Assessment The purpose of the School and District Summary is to provide a concise presentation of results reported for the 1993 administration of the CLAS Grade Level Performance Assessments. In 1993 these assessments were administered to fourth, eighth, and tenth graders and covered the content areas of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. This summary presents information on assessment results, as well as student participation and student background factors used to describe schools or districts. The School and District Summary is divided into two sections: data reported at the state level and data reported at the school, district, and county levels. State Level Results State level results are reported at the top of the first page of the School and District Summary; all results are for the 1992-93 school year. The column headings for the state level results are given below: GR.: Grade level for which data is being reported; grades 4, 8, and 10 were assessed. NUM. ELIG.: Number of students reported as eligible to be tested. The number of students eligible to be tested was reported at the school level on the School Header Information Form, which was completed, certified, and returned by the school test coordinator during the 1993 assessment process. % Tested R/W/M: The percentage of students who were tested in each of the content areas of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics (R/W/M) as reported on the School Header Information Form. The percent of eligible students tested is determined by dividing the number of students tested in a given content area by the number of students reported as eligible to be tested and converting to a percentage basis. SES: Socioeconomic status at the elementary level is indicated by an index of the occupations of parents of students in the fourth grade. As part of the pre-assessment activities for each student, teachers identified from the list below the occupational category that most closely corresponded to the occupation of the studentÕs father, mother, or guardian. 1. Unknown 2. Unskilled Employees 3. Skilled and Semi-skilled Employees 4. Technical, Sales, and Administrative Support Workers 5. Managers and Professional Each studentÕs response was assigned a value from 1 to 5 as shown to the left of the categories above; the socioeconomic index is the average (mean) of these values for the students in this grade level. The higher the value, the greater the socioeconomic status of the community served. At the middle grades and high school levels the socioeconomic index is an indicator of the educational background of the parents of students at the grade level. As part of the pre-assessment activities each student identified from the list below the category that most closely corresponded to the educational background of the studentÕs most educated parent. 1. Not a high school graduate 2. High school graduate 3. Some college 4. College graduate 5. Advanced degree Each studentÕs response was assigned a value from 1 to 5 as shown to the left of the categories above. The socioeconomic index is the average (mean) of these values for the students in this grade level. The higher the % LEP: The percent of limited English proficient students (tested and non-tested) was reported by teachers on each studentÕs Student Information Form. Teachers were asked to classify their studentsÕ English language fluency as: 1. English Only 2. Fluent English Proficient 3. Tested Limited English Proficient 4. Non-tested Limited English Proficient The percent limited English Proficient is the percentage of students in category 3 or 4. Students in categories 3 and 4 are differentiated by California Department of Education policy. An LEP student was not required to be assessed in 1993 if the student had been enrolled in schools in the United States for less than 30 school months. In addition schools were allowed to exempt an LEP student who had been enrolled in U.S. schools for more than 30 months if that student was currently receiving instruction primarily in a language other than English and if that student was being assessed by the school or district in 1993 using an alternative assessment instrument. It is important to note that no student or category of students is prohibited from taking the CLAS assessments. Districts areencouraged to involve all students in the assessments, including those who are not required to be assessed, to the extent that it is appropriate to do so. PL: Performance Levels. Results for each grade level and content area (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) are reported on the basis of the percentage of students achieving at each of six performance levels. These six performance levels are shown in the PL column as the row headings of %6, %5, %4, %3, %2, and %1 with performance level 6 being the highest. For a better understanding of the performance levels shown on this page please refer to the School Report or District Report for the 1993 CLAS Performance Assessments received by each school district in the state, or refer to the CLAS published Statewide Performance Standards, ASupplement to Students, Standards, and Success. Further understanding would be gained by examining the related California curriculum frameworks and their supporting documents, as well as the CLAS-published samplers in English-language arts and Mathematics. These samplers provide descriptions of the assessments, sample tasks and questions, sample student responses at various levels of performance, and scoring guides used by teachers to evaluate the student responses. % and S.E.: Within each grade level and content area % shows the percentage of students achieving at the performance level corresponding to a given row. S.E. indicates the standard error of the % at this performance level. These standard errors reflect the amount of expected variability in the performance level results reported. The magnitude of this expected variability is related to sample size such that it is larger for smaller samples. School, District, and County Level Results The remainder of the School and District Summary reports school, district, and county level results. Counties are listed followed by all school districts within that county. Each school within a district is listed under that district. All counties, districts, and schools are listed in alphabetical order. Column headings for the school, district, and county level results are similar to the headings used in reporting state level results. GR.: See State Level Results above. Year: All results reported here are for the 1992-93 school year. Previous years statewide testing results are not comparable to the 1992-93 CLAS results. NUM. ELIG.: See State Level Results above. % TESTED: See State Level Results above. For county/district/school level results the % tested is reported in separate columns for each content area. %6,%5...: See PL under State Level Results above. Results reported are the percent at each of the six performance levels. For school, district, and county results, the standard error (S.E., see State Level Results above) of the percentage at each performance level is given in the row below the performance level results. For districts and schools a row with the row heading C.G. is given below the standard errors. The C.G. row reports the percent at each performance level for a comparison group composed of the 100 schools (districts) which are most similar to this school (district) on the basis of four background factors: socioeconomic status, percent limited English proficient, student mobility, and the percent of families in the district receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Viewing a schoolÕs or districtÕs distribution of results along with that of its comparison group allows comparisons between schools or districts with similar student populations.