Press Releases / Fullerton School District Students Outperform State Peers in Latest Assessment Data

Fullerton School District Students Outperform State Peers in Latest Assessment Data

Pacific Drive Elementary School students actively hopped into learning on the first day of the new school year.

Students in the Fullerton School District (FSD) are outperforming their peers statewide in English and math and showing year-to-year academic growth, according to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data recently released by the California Department of Education (CDE).

The CAASPP, which replaced the State’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program in 2014, is administered each spring to all students in grades 3 through 8. It helps measure students' progress in meeting educational standards and serves as a statewide educational accountability system. Data from the CAASPP also enables educators to track progress and plan for targeted interventions to keep students on track in their progressive learning of core subjects.

Compared with state averages, FSD excelled in the 2024 data, outperforming the state by 10.91 percentage points in English Language Arts (ELA) and 14.8 percentage points in math.

2024 CAASPP side-by-side data for FSD students’ and their statewide peers in ELA

Across FSD, 57.95% of students scored proficient in ELA, while 50.34% achieved proficiency in math. These scores reflect an increase of approximately half a percent in both subjects for FSD students compared to the previous year, indicating a continued positive trend for the district. Additionally, proficiency rates improved for nearly all student groups, including foster youth. Data sets did highlight room for improvement in the district’s homeless student population, underscoring the importance of its ongoing efforts to support diverse learners.

FSD has taken matters into its own hands when it comes to supporting unhoused students and their families in the district.

2024 CAASPP side-by-side data for FSD students’ and their statewide peers in math

"As a district that celebrates diversity and strives to meet the needs of all learners, we recognize the importance of supporting our students facing housing insecurity and other vulnerable groups," said Hilda Sugarman, Vice President of FSD’s Board of Trustees.

Sugarman also heads the Fullerton Education Foundation (FEF), a local nonprofit organization that raises funding for FSD programs, services, teacher grants, and more, including FSD’s Tiny Home Project, a project that saw eighth grade students at Nicolas Junior High School build a tiny home from October 2023 through May 2024 that has already welcomed its first Fullerton School District family to live in as of August 2024. Families using the tiny home for temporary housing are also being connected with additional resources and support services, with the ultimate goal of supporting them in securing affordable, sustainable housing and establishing a positive path forward.

"We are committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of their circumstances, has access to the resources and opportunities needed to succeed, and projects like our Tiny Home initiative showcase the innovative, empathetic work we are doing in FSD to uplift all learners to help close achievement gaps.”

FSD held a ribbon-cutting event upon completion of its first-ever Tiny Home Project.

While proficiency rates offer just a tiny snapshot of performance, the CDE uses the "distance from standard" (DFS) metric for accountability purposes reflected on the California School Dashboard. This dashboard will be updated with current data in December 2024. For a comprehensive report and presentation detailing FSD's results compared with statewide and neighboring district data, community members are encouraged to attend FSD’s monthly Board of Trustees Meeting in January 2025. To learn more about the CAASPP, visit caaspp-elpac.ets.org, and for more information about FSD and its award-winning programs, visit fullertonsd.org.

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