La Fetra, Whitcomb Both Show Positive Testing Gains

La Fetra Elementary School and Whitcomb High School both posted fairly positive data in state and federal testings scores last year.

The information was given as part of the continuing series of testing data revealed by all district schools at Glendora Unified board meetings.

La Fetra experienced a minor drop in API in 2010-2011, according to Carlos Moran, La Fetra principal. The school holds a score of 890, just three points down from the year prior.

Moran pointed out that while school-wide there was a minor loss, the Hispanic population gained 17 points over last year and the students with disabilities climbed 34 points. White students and socio-economically disadvantaged students dropped by 11 and 12 points, respectively.

"We had a couple negatives there, but all the subgroups are over 800," Moran said.

Grades three and four posted positive gains in math.

In grade three, 88 percent of students were proficient or advanced in math, while fourth graders were 87 percent proficient or advanced. Fourth graders were 79 percent proficient or advanced in ELA, according to Moran.

Fifth graders posted huge gains in not only ELA and math, but in science as well.

Fifth grade students were 89 percent proficient/advanced in ELA, 92 percent in math and 94 percent in science.

"Those scores are just magnificent," Moran said.

When looking at AYP, school-wide percentages were met, with socioeconomically disadvantaged students falling short of the ELA requirement of 67.6 percent with 58 percent.

For Whitcomb, a continuation school, progress is tracked using the Alternative Schools Accountability Model, gauging progress of highly mobile and at-risk students, according to the California Department of Education.

Enrollment has remained fairly stable, according to Rebecca Summers, Whitcomb principal, with 166 student enrolled over the course of the year, 97 were long term students.

The long term students are the basis for the school's ASAM funding, according to Summers.

Attendance is an important indicator in ASAM funding. "It's something we are tasked with keeping in the 90th percentile, Summers said. The school maintained nearly 95 percent of total enrollment days attended by long-term students.

In terms of graduation, 65 percent of all long-term 12th grade students graduated on time, 30 of those will attend community college, while two plan on attending a trade or technical school, Summers said.

API is difficult to gauge success by, Summers said, considering enrollment fluctuates and only 22 students are in the data set. API for Whitcomb is at 554, down from 638 last year.

However, proficient percentages in subjects from ELA, to Algebra I, to life science, to U.S. History grew by double digits. Students proficient in earth science, grade 11 grew by 55 percent. ELA students in grade 11 grew in proficiency by 31 points, Summers said.