CVUSD math scores are improving

In the Nov. 10letter to the Thousand Oaks Acorn, “Still unhappy with Everyday Math,” the writer states, “. . . district API scores, when ranked by similar schools, clearly indicate a majority of Conejo Valley Unified School District schools do not perform at a level the four trustees (Stephens, Beaubien, Didio, and Phelps) would like you to believe.”

The claim that the district’s API scores are inferior to those of Ventura County and other statewide school districts are not supported by the most recent state test scores.

The following is a summary of Conejo Valley Unified School District’s API (Academic Performance Index) 2005 test scores:

1. At the elementary school level: The average API score in CVUSD is 860. There are 13 elementary schools in the county with API scores over 900. Five of these schools are in CVUSD. Out of 5,560 elementary schools statewide, half of the elementary schools in CVUSD have API scores in the top 10 percent.

2. At the middle school level: The average API score in CVUSD is 869. The district rank is first, second, fourth and fifth in Ventura County. All CVUSD middle schools are in the top 90 percent of API scores in the state out of 1,283 middle schools.

3. At the high school level: The average API score is 818. The district rank in Ventura County is second, third and fourth. All CVUSD high schools are in the top 6 percent of API scores in the state out of 1,788 high schools.

The writer has come to past school board meetings and expressed her displeasure with Everyday Math, the math text adopted in 2002 and used in grades K-6.

In her letter she states, “The vote to adopt this controversial math curriculum by the four trustees clearly indicates an approval of mediocre math instruction for our children.”

The district test scores do not support this point of view. When the state math test scores from 2002 through 2005 are reviewed, it is crystal clear that student achievement has improved using Everyday Math. A summary of those results follows:

2002: 1,180 students fell in the Below/Far Below Basic category.

2005: 475 students fell in the Below/Far Below Basic category.

Change: 705 fewer students scoring in the Below/Far Below category

The state testing results confirm that Conejo Valley Unified School District is one of the top districts in the state and, as we move from “good to great,” improvement in our K-12 academic performance will be continuous as the district goes forward. Tim Stephens, president, Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education, and board members Dorothy Beaubien, Dolores Didio and Pat Phelps