Board hears how pandemic affected student learning, enrollment at Modesto City Schools
Leaders at Modesto City Schools on Monday shared data revealing how the COVID-19 pandemic affected students’ academic performance.
“Across the board, there’s learning loss,” said Heather Contreras, assistant superintendent for school leadership.
The district’s annual report to the school board on student outcomes covered a wide range of measures, including state test scores, graduation rates and enrollment trends.
In sharing the data with trustees and the public, Associate Superintendent for Educational Services Brad Goudeau said the district aims to be transparent with its challenges and identify plans to address shortcomings.
The full presentation can be found in the Oct. 18 school board agenda under item B.5. The Modesto Bee pulled out four takeaways from the report.
State test scores dip
As school leaders anticipated, scores on state standardized tests declined significantly, Contreras said.
Students performed better in English language arts than in math, which is consistent with prior years, Goudeau said.
English learners and students with disabilities did not show growth, according to the presentation. Black students demonstrated a “significant achievement gap” in both English language arts and math.
The data from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP, is widely seen as unreliable for spring 2021 because of factors caused by the pandemic. Fewer students participated, the test itself was shortened and students could take the test in person or remotely, causing more variations in testing environments, Contreras said. But because students were not tested in spring 2020, district officials are looking to 2021 as a new baseline.
The district is conducting special education training for teachers and staff and implementing interventions called multi-tier systems of support across all K-6 sites, among other efforts to address students’ academic needs.
Grad rate steady, dropout rate decreases
The district’s 2021 graduation rate did not change from the previous school year, according to the presentation. About 87% of students graduated.
Elliott Alternative Education Center showed the largest changes. The continuation school’s graduation rate jumped nearly 11% from the previous year, and the dropout rate declined by almost 12%, according to the presentation.
The district’s overall dropout rate decreased by 2.2%, according to the presentation.
Graduates who met UC and CSU requirements dipped by about 1%, to 39% districtwide.
AP test scores, participation down
Pass rates and participation in AP exams decreased, Senior Director of School Leadership Will Nelson told trustees.
AP exam pass rates dropped most among Black students, falling by nearly 28% from the 2019-20 school year to about 16%. Latino students taking AP exams dropped by 1%.
Nelson said distance learning impacted the exam pass rate.
“COVID is a challenge, but we are wanting to step up and do more for our students,” he said.
District growing more diverse
Modesto City Schools is “increasingly diverse,” Assessment and Evaluation Director Ryan Reynolds told the board.
The percentage of students identified by federal ethnicity as Latino grew to about 66%, a 1.1% increase from the 2020-21 school year, according to the presentation. White students, the next largest student population, make up 18% of the student body, a 0.7% decrease from the previous year.
About 5% of students identify as two or more races, 4% as Asian and 2.5% as Black or African American, according to the presentation.
The English learner population continues to increase, reaching 24.8% in the 2021-22 school year. Nearly three-quarters of students in the district are socioeconomically disadvantaged, at 71%.
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
