Achievement extremes Achievement extremes (May 03, 2002)

By Candice Shih

The achievement disparities between the Mountain View elementary schools surface at Graham Middle School, where unusually large groups of high achievers and low achievers define its programs.

Although most students at most schools have average test scores, the majority of Graham's students have either high or low test scores. In general, this trend is seen in all its classes from sixth through eighth grade and on all four test areas on the SAT9, the state-mandated yearly exam which tests reading, math, language and spelling skills.

But the trend does not seem to cross ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries

Most of Graham's incoming sixth graders come from one of two backgrounds: one that is mostly white, financially secure, and high-achieving and one that is mostly Spanish speaking, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and low-achieving.

By and large, the former accounts for the high test scores and the latter for the low test scores.

Graham's educational methods target these, extremes but most students appear to enter high school in the same achievement pattern in which they exited elementary school.
An inverted bell curve

Theoretically, the shape of a bell should describe the graph of the distribution of students' test scores, with most students in the middle and a few at the edges. This theory lies behind the practice of "grading on the curve," and is used at many schools and universities to evaluate student performance.

But with Graham's many high- and low-performing students, Principal Judy Crates says that the school's achievement distribution graph describes an inverted bell curve.

Like all public schools in the state, Graham administers the SAT9, which is conducted in English, to all of its students every year. Their scores are matched against a predetermined nationwide standard and are grouped into quintiles.

For example, in math, 71 Graham sixth graders scored in the top quintile while 54 scored in the lowest quintile. The second, third, and fourth quintiles were made up of 35, 35, and 38 students, respectively.

This trend is seen to a somewhat lesser degree in the other test areas and among seventh and eighth graders.

But what school officials find significant - and troubling - is the demographic breakdown of students who contribute to the highest and lowest scores.
Test scores divisive by ethnicity and class

The SAT9 test scores show that almost all of the students with extremely low test scores are socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or Hispanic/Latino (students are considered socioeconomically disadvantaged if neither parent earned a high school diploma or if they participate in a free or reduced-price lunch program).

Of the 39 sixth-graders who scored in the lowest quintile of the reading exam, 34 are Hispanic/Latino and 34 (not necessarily the same ones) are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Conversely, students classified as white (not of Hispanic origin) constitute the bulk of the highest quintile of achievement.

This demographic trend persists over all test areas, with Hispanic/Latino and socioeconomically disadvantaged sixth, seventh, and eighth graders scoring far below everyone else.

And these are patterns that extend to the high schools.

At both Mountain View and Los Altos High Schools, most whites (non-Spanish speaking) and Asians score above the 60th percentile on the SAT9 while most Hispanic/Latino students score below the 40th percentile on the same exam in all of the test areas.

"Often, by the time a kid comes to high school, it's way too late," said Rich Fischer, superintendent of the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District. "A lot of kids have already developed their achievement patterns and friendship patterns."

During the 2000-2001 school year at Mountain View High School, 53 percent of Hispanic/Latino students were in a pre-algebra math class whereas 87 percent of white (non-Hispanic) students and 93 percent of Asian students studied algebra, geometry or a higher level of math.
Contributors to the pattern

The reasons for these extremes are apparent to many in the community. Graham draws its students mostly from Bubb, Landels, Slater, Huff and Castro Schools. Huff scores in the highest decile and Castro in the lowest decile among California public schools.

When these students enter junior high, many take their educational success, or lack thereof, with them. In general, for Huff and Bubb students, who are mostly white and Asian, this means a pattern of high achievement.

On the whole, for Castro students, who are mostly Hispanic/Latino, and some of whom are not yet proficient in English, this means a pattern of academic struggle.

Socioeconomic class can not be ignored either; about 85 percent of Castro students are on a free or reduced-price lunch program, while only 4 percent of Huff and 14 percent of Bubb students are.

"Many of the families have horrendous economic stress and work, maybe two jobs, and are not home a lot," said Monique Kane, executive director of the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC). "Sometimes the kids are by themselves."

"The kids will learn the language fairly quickly. To get the nuances, it takes a while. When your parents aren't there very much, they can't help too much with homework," Kane added.

The socioeconomically disadvantaged are consequently academically disadvantaged.

Considering Graham's neighbor, Crittenden Middle School, it may become clearer why its scores are the way they are.

Unlike Graham, Crittenden's SAT9 scores look more like the traditional bell curve, with the majority of students performing in the middle quintiles. One reason may be because its students come from a more narrow range of socioeconomic groups.

In addition, Crittenden is a smaller school than Graham.

"It's more difficult to provide differentiated instruction at a smaller school," noted Robin Russell, a first-year English teacher at Crittenden who taught at Graham for 12 years. "Students not able to rely on someone to translate for them catch on to English faster. They have to out of necessity."
Elevating the lower end

Educating students with a wide range of ability and motivation is the task facing Crates and Graham's staff. The solution is, for the most part, differentiating the students by their abilities and challenges they face.

For those with extremely limited English speaking skills, there is a Newcomer Center where basic survival English is taught.

Others with more English language experience might be enrolled in a Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) class where the content is more basic than that of a mainstream class. For example, Crates said the SDAIE U.S. history class is written at the third grade level for eighth graders.

It's a juggling act to educate English language learners at the appropriate level in their own classes but not to isolate them, said Crates. Consequently, these students are only allowed to take up to three or four SDAIE classes at a time and are able to mix with their peers - and absorb their more advanced vocabulary - in elective and physical education courses.

More advanced non-native English speakers are placed in mainstream classes but are given concessions at times. The homework level is adjusted as are grades in some cases. "Teachers accept what students are able to give them," said Crates.

But, that does not mean there aren't incentives for growth. For more advanced English language learners, there are often open-ended and creative assignments such as science projects, oral presentations, and outside reading with which they can prove their growth.

These are appropriate, too, for students who are proficient in English but have difficulty getting motivated, have learning disabilities, or are otherwise academically disadvantaged - those students whom Crates calls "the I can'ts, the I don'ts, and the I won'ts."
An honor roll for everyone

Crates does not only need to address the underachieving students, but the high achievers, too, to ensure that they are challenged. Graham offers accelerated math classes for sixth and seventh graders and algebra for its eighth graders. Eighth graders who have completed algebra can go to Mountain View High School for geometry, too.

Eighth graders can also qualify to take an honors English course. "If you're highly talented, there's options here," she said.

"I feel like they've gotten a good education," agreed Debbie Griego, a parent of two children who attended Graham and one who's there now. "My kids have done fine in high school. They took honors and A.P. classes all the way through."

Graham will also soon be offering the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program which encourages students who typically have C plus or B grade point averages, but whose parents might not have attended college, to prepare for college.

Rewards for improvement are given to the middle achievers; in addition to the standard 4.0 G.P.A. honor roll, there is an "Effort" honor roll for students who had lower than a B plus average but no negative comments on their report cards, and an "Improved G.P.A." honor roll for students who raise their G.P.A. by at least 0.5.

"Every single person could be on an honor roll," said Crates. That's at least one thing all Graham students have in common with each other.