The Santa Barbara Unified School District released a mid-year progress report, going over scores of the STAR reading and math tests from all students in grades 3-6, and all students in grades 7-8 at Santa Barbara and La Cumbre Junior High schools. The report also delves into absenteeism among students and district employees, as well as the progress of incoming high school students.
This is not a standard report card for end-of-year scores, said district Chief Operations Officer Steve Venz. Instead, the district wanted to take a look at how students have been performing so far this year as compared to last year in reading and math, examining what areas students might need more help in and how the district can provide that. “This is a snapshot of where our students are at this particular time,” Venz said. “We as a district just wanted to find out which students need help, and what they need help with.”
Overall, the majority of elementary and secondary students have performed at or exceeded standards in reading, with both groups having at least 40 percent of their student populations exceeding standards as of the most recent assessment. The most recent assessment was given for secondary students in February 2022 and for elementary students in March 2022. When compared to scores from May 2021, secondary students' comprehension went down slightly, with 44 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards in 2021, compared to 40 percent of students in 2022. For elementary students, comprehension rose, from 44 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards in 2021 to 46 percent of students in 2022.