The state department of education released the first standardized test scores aligned to the new Common Core standards Wednesday.
About 3.2 million students took the online assessments last spring. Since the new tests are dramatically different from previous exams, the new results will be used as a baseline to measure future progress.
The tests were administered to students in grades three through seven, as well as those in 11th grade.
According to the results, 16 percent of students statewide exceeded the standard in English language arts and literacy, while 28 percent met the standard. Meanwhile, 25 percent "nearly met" the standard, and 31 percent did not meet the standard. In math, 14 percent exceeded the standard, 19 percent met it, 29 percent "nearly met" it and 38 percent fell short.
In San Diego County, 21 percent of students exceeded the standard in English, with 30 percent meeting the standard, 24 percent nearly meeting it and 25 percent failing to meet it. In math, 18 percent of San Diego County students exceeded the standard, 22 percent met it, 28 percent nearly met it and 31 percent did not meet the standard.
"We believe this is testament to the hard work our schools and teachers have been doing to help students meet our new, more rigorous state standards," according to the San Diego County Office of Education. "Together, we're encouraging and building skills in critical thinking, analytical writing and real-world problem solving. These are skills students will need to be successful in school and in life."
The results showed that too many children are struggling, however, according to the SDCOE.
San Diego Unified School District students fared about the same, with 22 percent exceeding the English standard, 29 percent meeting the standard, 23 percent nearly meeting the benchmark and 26 percent not meeting it. In math, 19 percent exceeded the standard, 22 percent met it, 28 percent nearly met it and 31 percent failed to meet it.
"It's important for our families to know that this is just one measure out of dozens we use to assess student performance," Superintendent Cindy Marten said.
"This assessment is so different from (previous standardized tests) that attempting to compare is beyond apples to oranges," she said. "It would be like comparing apples to sailboats. Our students are much more than a single test score, and their performance cannot be determined by a single measure."
Marten said the workplace is changing, so the way student performance is measured has to keep pace.
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said the overall results continued to show an achievement gap among some ethnic groups, English-learners and low-income families.
