Berkeleyside published a story this week analyzing how BUSD’s state test scores were impacted by the pandemic.
Read the story for an in-depth look at student progress by grade level, race and other factors like English learner status, as well as three charts breaking down the trends.
The results show that the pandemic interrupted students’ progress, but not as dramatically as it did across the state:
— The percentage of BUSD students meeting state math standards dropped 4 percentage points, to 58%, compared with a 7 percentage point drop to 33% across California.
— In English, the percentage of Berkeley students meeting state standards stayed constant, at 67%, compared with a decline of 4 percentage points to 47% across the state.
— Scores fell more steeply for high school students, while Berkeley elementary and middle schools fared better than many California school districts.
— For the most part, achievement gaps did not widen the way some feared they could, though disparities in academic outcomes remain one of the district’s biggest challenges.
To help break down the results even further, we’re sharing an interactive graphic published by CalMatters reporters Erica Yee and Joe Hong that allows you to see changes in test scores at every school in the state, including by student sub-groups.
The graphic makes it easier to find outliers in the data. For example, there were several BUSD schools that saw tremendous improvements in certain students’ test scores. At Rosa Parks Elementary, the number of low-income students who met state standards in English rose significantly and, in the fifth grade, nearly quadrupled to 67%. At Sylvia Mendez, Latino students improved 8 percentage points and, in the third grade, 69% of third graders met state standards.