SCORES SHOW ACHIEVEMENT; TEST RESULTS REVEAL BETTER-THAN-AVERAGE SCHOOL SKILLS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

School administrators and parents this week analyzed scores from the standardized tests taken by California students this spring, indicating local youths performed at or above the national average.

Scores on the Stanford 9 test, taken by all public school students in grades 2 through 11, ranged from the 40s through the 70s in the broad categories of reading, math, language and spelling on the 1-through-99 scale known as national percentile rank.

Sixth-graders in the Saugus Union School District scored a collective 80 in the math category, the highest mark among the four elementary school districts in the Santa Clarita Valley.

In general, test results seemed to be highest overall in the Newhall and Saugus school districts - with most of the scores in the 60s and 70s - and lowest in the Castaic and Sulphur Springs school districts, with most of the scores in the 50s and 60s in the national percentile rankings.

However, all the data available included scores for English-speaking students lumped in with those whose primary language is Spanish or another tongue. In the Sulphur Springs district, for example, about 20 percent of its 5,000 pupils have limited proficiency in English, said Superintendent Robert Nolet.

Nolet said teachers and principals will evaluate the standardized test results over the summer to determine how they can bridge any gaps between district curriculum and the material covered in the Stanford 9 test.

``We knew that there was misalignment with what we're teaching in our curriculum. We're not disappointed in the scores, but we think the students need to have the best opportunity to do better,'' Nolet added.

Meanwhile, the Sulphur Springs district sent home individual test scores to the parents of each student about two weeks ago. Nolet said he hoped that parents trying to decipher the printout of bar charts and assorted statistics would focus on the accompanying letter from the school district.

Some students will have scored better than expected, and others worse than anticipated, Nolet cautioned. But parents know their children better than anyone else, and should keep the standardized test scores in perspective - balancing them with how youngsters perform on schoolwork, on their report cards and other classroom activities.

``This is not the whole picture in the assessment of your child . . . by any means,'' Nolet said. ``There are children who get scores that are not at all reflective of their ability.''

In the Newhall School District, meanwhile, Stanford 9 test scores will be discussed during the next board of education meeting on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

In the Newhall district, the scores of more than 900 students with limited English proficiency are included with those of their English-speaking counterparts. Total enrollment in the district, which will begin its year-round school Monday, stands at 5,950, said Anne Hazlett, assistant superintendent of personnel and instruction.

STANFORD 9 TEST RESULTS

This chart shows the performances of the Santa Clarita Valley's four elementary school districts on the Stanford 9 tests. All scores reflect ``national percentile ranks,'' which compare the student's results with scores of the same grade level in a national sample. Percentile ranks range from 1 to 99, and a score of 50 is average. Scores include those of non-English-proficient pupils.

CASTAIC UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

Grade 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Reading 52 47 52 50 59 57 50

Math 59 55 53 56 61 59 49

Language 65 54 55 53 58 62 53

Spelling 49 48 48 48 50 57 42

NEWHALL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Grade 2 3 4 5 6

Reading 60 60 65 63 68

Math 70 67 65 69 77

Language 66 63 66 66 72

Spelling 56 56 60 58 63

SAUGUS UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT

Grade 2 3 4 5 6

Reading 65 66 67 67 69

Math 73 73 70 74 80

Language 74 71 68 71 73

Spelling 65 64 63 61 65

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BOX: STANFORD 9 TEST RESULTS (See text)