LOCAL ENGLISH LEARNERS OUTPACE STATE ON EXAM TESTED STUDENTS SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGES AT HOME.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Antelope Valley students whose home language is not English scored higher than the state average on California's annual standardized test to measure English-language proficiency.

Of the 14,632 local youngsters who took the 2006-07 California English Language Development Test, 36 percent scored at levels labeled "advanced" or "early advanced," compared with 32 percent statewide.

Scores went down from the previous academic year's scores in all but one of the 12 Antelope Valley districts, but state officials said direct comparisons cannot be made between results from the two years because the scoring scale changed.

"Because the CELDT now more accurately reflects what students should be able to do in order to be considered fluent, fewer students overall have met the benchmark of 'advanced' or 'early advanced' when compared to the nonconverted scores from 2005-06," according to a written statement from state education officials.

Statewide, more than 1.3 million students took the 2006-07 test. Preliminary results show that 25 percent of English learners in California's public schools scored at "early advanced" and 7 percent scored at "advanced."

"When comparing the 2006-07 results with the converted 2005-06 results, we continue to see a slight increase in the percentage of English learners who are scoring at the top performance levels," said Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction.

The test assesses reading and writing skills for students in second through 12th grades, as well as listening and speaking skills for those students and also for children in kindergarten and first grade.

The number of Antelope Valley students who have taken the test has increased over the years -- from 12,654 in 2004-05, to 13,028 in 2005-06, to the 14,632 in 2006-07.

In the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District, 39 percent of the 155 tested students scored as "advanced" and "early advanced" toward gaining proficiency in English.

In the Antelope Valley Union High School District, 1,342 students -- 51 percent of those tested -- were "advanced" and "early advanced," compared with 76 percent the prior year.

"In the past, the range for each proficiency level varied from year to year. For example, a score of 300 one year might be 'basic,' but the following year it might be 'below basic.' There was no consistency in interpreting the data. Starting this school year, the scores have been recalibrated," said Anthony Martinez, the high school district's director of student support and achievement.

In the Eastside Union School District, 36 percent of the 859 tested students scored in the top two categories.

In the Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union School District, 11 students were tested, and six of them scored in the top two levels.

In the Keppel Union School District, of the 990 students tested, 38 percent scored in the top two levels.

In the Lancaster School District, 2,672 students were tested, with 27 percent "advanced" or "early advanced."

In the Palmdale School District, 5,402 students were tested, with 34 percent scoring in the top two levels.

In the Westside Union School District, of the 609 students tested, 32 percent scored in the top two levels.

In the Wilsona School District, 666 students were tested, and 38 percent scored in the top two levels.

In the Mojave Unified School District, 345 students were tested, and 14 percent scored in the top two levels.

In the Muroc Joint Unified School District, 43 students were tested, and 13 were "advanced" or "early advanced."

In the Southern Kern Unified School District, 223 students were tested, and 23 percent were "advanced" or "early advanced."

California is the U.S. state with the greatest number of students whose household language is not English, education officials said.

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