Proficiency Tests

Nearly half of 2,500 aspiring Massachusetts teachers failed the latest round of teacher certification exams, marking a slight improvement over a previous test that sparked public outrage and led to calls for drastic education reform. Fifty-nine percent of the state's prospective educators flunked an April exam. In July, 47% failed, with repeat test-takers performing especially poorly.

San Fernando Valley high schools earned the top SAT scores in the Los Angeles school system, according to state statistics released Tuesday that also showed Valley campuses sending large numbers of graduates to college. The state's annual high school performance report offered an upbeat assessment of most Valley campuses, as it did of schools statewide. Overall, for instance, more California students are taking college prep courses than in the past. And more students are staying in school.

Although Orange County's high school students still rank well above the state average in most categories, their standings on the SATs and Advanced Placement exams slipped from last year, according to a newly released report. Last year, Orange County led the state in the rate of students passing AP exams. This year, it ranked second, behind San Francisco.

The state Department of Education released its annual report on how well California's high schools are doing by various measures. One notable change is that students appear to be more likely to stay in school, although educators say some of that improvement is due to better record keeping. Partial data is reported below. The first column shows the percentage of students in each category. The middle column shows the change from two years previous.

The Times today is publishing selected "quality indicators" for Orange County high schools, released annually by the California Department of Education. The data comes from a variety of sources, including the schools themselves. The information is compiled on every high school to help parents, educators and policymakers spot trends in performance. The four-year completion rate and the college attendance information is from the 1995-96 school year and is the latest such data available.

Standardized test scores in the Fullerton School District improved significantly from 1997 to 1998, bringing them equal to or above county and state figures, the school board was told this week. The Stanford 9, which was administered to the second through eighth grades in late April, measures students' basic skills such as reading and math. The scores represent how students perform compared with a national sample of test takers.

This is the way it used to work: On Monday mornings, teachers would introduce a list of new spelling words. They were read in stories, written in sentences and memorized during the week, and a test was held on Fridays. A decade ago, state officials abandoned this rote method of instruction for a "whole language" approach. Educators theorized that spelling and other language skills would be better learned by immersion in good books instead of drills and memorization.

The state Senate on Friday approved a raise of up to 12% for more than 24,000 correctional officers and other prison employees, as unions representing more than 100,000 other state employees continued efforts to get a raise of their own. The measure was approved 27 to 2, the two-thirds necessary for passage in the 40-seat Senate. The Assembly was expected to take up the bill Monday, the last day of the two-year legislative session before the two houses adjourn for the year.

Educators make no secret of their deep skepticism about standardized testing. But parents--especially many affluent, overachiever types--don't tend to share those doubts. They want to know, as precisely as possible, if their kids are keeping up or falling behind. That's one reason why Virtual Knowledge, a Massachusetts software firm, has the fastest rate of growth among the 25 largest publishers of educational software, according to PC Data of Reston, Va.