More than half of SFUSD students proficient in Math and English Language Arts

Press Release

August 24, 2016 (San Francisco) – Today, the California Department of Education released the second year of test results for students who took the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), the computer­ adaptive tests and performance tasks based on based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. 

Results for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) show district students remain ahead of their peers in California and in most large urban districts. In ELA, 53 percent of students overall are now meeting or exceeding the standards, up from 52 percent last year. In Math, 50 percent of students are now meeting or exceeding the standards, up from 48 percent last year. 

More than 25,000 SFUSD students in grades three through eight and grade eleven participated in the Smarter Balanced assessments last spring. 

“We are on the right track with transitioning to a Common­Core­aligned curriculum in Math and ELA, and our students are better prepared for college and careers,” said Superintendent Richard A. Carranza. “While SFUSD students demonstrate greater proficiency than many of their peers in urban schools across the state, these results also show that we must continue to focus on closing the achievement gap for our African­American and Latino students.” 

Gains at select schools point to promising practices 

Some schools showed higher proficiency or gains than the district averages for African­American, Latino, English Language learners, and students receiving Special Education services. 

In grades three through five, Lafayette, Clarendon, Alamo, McCoppin, Argonne, Jose Ortega, Junipero Serra, and Bryant all scored above the district average for both Math and English Language Arts or made significant improvements from last year. 

In grades six through eight, Claire Lilienthal, Lawton, A.P. Giannini, Roosevelt, Aptos, Marina, and Hoover scored above the district average on both content areas or made significant improvements from last year. 

At the high school level, the schools that scored above the district average on both content areas or made significant improvements from last year were Lowell, Lincoln, The Academy, and SF International. 

Comparing Smarter Balanced assessments among large urban school districts in California 

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