State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell praised San Diego City Schools today for posting some of the highest gains on state standardized test scores throughout California.
Most of the progress was made in English. State test results show 52 percent of San Diego students scored proficient or advanced in English, that's up five percent from last year.
This is the first time so many students earned such high marks in the subject. San Diego Unified's performance in the subject ranks second in the state compared to other large urban school districts.
O'Connell applauded San Diego's Correia Middle School. The school show big improvements in narrowing the achievement gap -- something most schools across the state haven't been able to do.
"We need to make sure that we look and learn from schools like this one," O'Connell said. "In terms of how they are closing the achievement gap and then we need to share this information with schools with a similar demographic."
Math and science scores also showed significant gains across the district. About 45 percent scored well in math and almost 50 percent did well in science
San Diego Unified School Superintendent Terry Grier credits the increase on better use of student performance data. Students are taking district benchmark tests several times a year to prepare for the state test. A new data system crunches those scores which teachers then use to target problems and tailor their instruction.
