How has COVID affected Stanislaus County students’ learning? New data indicate impacts
New data suggest how Stanislaus County students were impacted academically by the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning.
The data, released Friday by the California Department of Education, include scores from state standardized tests in English, math, science and English language proficiency. State officials say they should be interpreted with caution because of uneven participation allowed during the pandemic.
The department also released information on chronic absenteeism, discipline and graduation rates.
In a news release, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said the performance data confirm what officials heard from school districts and county offices throughout the previous school year.
“Namely, the challenges that students and educators faced during the pandemic were multi-dimensional and disruptive to learning and mental health,” Thurmond said in the release. “Our goal now is to move all students forward.”
The Modesto Bee identified highlights from the countywide data below.
California assessments for English, math
The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASP, is usually administered to all students in grades 3-8 and 11.
Students did not take the tests in the 2019-20 school year because the U.S. Department of Education waived requirements due to the pandemic. In 2020-21, the department required the assessments with some flexibility.
Schools could administer a shortened version of the assessments, offer students to test remotely and extend the testing window, according to a document from the California Education Department instructing how to interpret the results.
School leaders could also opt for an alternative, local assessment of their choosing. Only the results from California’s standardized tests were reflected in the data released Friday.
Less than 25% of California students completed all subjects for statewide assessments, according to the document.
California’s assessments for English Language Arts and math are designed to measure students’ mastery of Common Core State Standards, according to the state’s interpretation document.
The statewide results for English language arts and math “generally show academic progress but at a slower rate than in prior years,” according to a release from the Education Department. “The scores also show a widening of achievement gaps between student groups,” the release stated.
Stanislaus County students scored worse in math than in English. Scores in both subjects were lower than the statewide numbers.
Test results were available for just over half of Stanislaus students who were eligible based on enrollment data.
In math, more than half of students (52.9%) did not meet standards, versus 41% of students across the state. The proportion of students who met standards was a little more than 4 points lower than the statewide average (13.96% to 17.98%).
Just 7% of students exceeded standards for math, compared to 16% across California.
When broken out by race and ethnicity, the data show 67% of Black students and 60% of Latino students did not meet standards for math, as compared to 39% of white students.
Nearly 40% of Stanislaus County students (38.6%) did not meet standards for English Language Arts/Literacy, roughly 10 percentage points more than the statewide figure (28.3%).
For Black and Latino students in Stanislaus County, that number rose to 50% and 44%, respectively.
The proportion of students who met standards came in at 24%, compared to 28% statewide.
Science assessment
Students in grades 5 and 8 and 10, 11 or 12 take the California Science Test, or CAST.
Almost 5,000 students in Stanislaus County took the test, or about 19% of those eligible. Most students who tested nearly met standards.
Achievement gaps between students in Stanislaus County and students across California were smaller than those for English and math.
Twenty percent of students did not meet standards, roughly two points higher than the state figure.
Students in elementary grades scored worse than those in high school. Black and Latino students fared slightly worse than than the county-wide average.
English language learners
The Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, or ELPAC, measures English language learners’ progress.
Stanislaus County students’ scores nearly matched those across the state. The largest gap between county and state figures was at the highest level, which reflected 14% of California students overall and 11% of students in Stanislaus County.
This test had the highest participation rate of the assessments, at 95% for the county.
Graduation rates
The county’s four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate was 85% for 2020-21, compared to 84% statewide, data show.
This number reflects the number of students who begin high school together as freshman and graduate four years later, according to the state release.
The figures dropped slightly for Stanislaus County Latino students, to about 84%. For Black students, the figure dropped to 75%.
Of 7,399 high school graduates, 2,812 met UC/CSU requirements, the state’s data tables show.
Graduation rates for the county’s three largest districts:
Modesto City High: 87%
Turlock Unified: 91%
Ceres Unified: 86%
Chronic absenteeism
Across California, the chronic absenteeism rate rose by 2.2 points to 14.3%, according to the state’s release.
This refers to students who missed at least 10% of school days in one school year, the release stated.
In Stanislaus County, 16% of students were considered chronically absent. The figure was highest for Black students, at 23%.
Discipline
The suspension rate across California “hit an all-time low, as might be expected for a year of mostly remote learning,” according to the state’s release.
In Stanislaus County, the suspension rate was 0.4%, 0.2 points higher than the statewide number. That translates into 549 suspensions for 441 students.
Suspension rates for the county’s three largest districts (including Modesto City and Modesto High):
Modesto City Schools
High School: 0.2%
Elementary: 0.1%
Turlock Unified: 1%
Ceres Unified: 0.6%
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 12:49 PM.
