December 20, 2002

Minority students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) achieved huge aggregate gains over the past five years on the Stanford Achievement Test Ninth Edition (Stanford 9 TA) administered this fall. Since the inception of the Stanford 9TA testing in 1999, all ethnic groups in FCPS are now scoring above the 50th percentile on most of the tests and have made significant progress in reducing the achievement gap.

"Our efforts to narrow the achievement gap are paying off," said FCPS Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech. "I credit our teachers and staff for the outstanding job they are doing to help our students learn and retain subject matter."
The following are the test results by ethnic group:

• The Black population showed the greatest aggregate five-year gain with a total increase of 199 percentile points. Asian student scores increased 145 points, Hispanic student scores increased 131 points, and White student scores increased 87 points.

• Hispanic students showed the most significant gains over the previous year with increases of three or more percentile points in all ten testing areas and an aggregate gain of 59 percentile points.

• Asian and White students scored at or above the 50th percentile on all tests.

• Hispanic students scored at or above the 50th percentile on 23 of the 30 tests reported. Hispanic students scored at or above the 50th percentile on 22 of the 30 tests in 2002, on 21 of the 30 tests in 2001, on 14 of the 30 tests in 2000, and on 16 of the 30 tests in 1999.

• Black students scored at or above the 50th percentile on 19 of the 30 tests reported. Black students scored at or above the 50th percentile on 16 of the 30 tests in 2002, on 11 of the 30 tests in 2001, on 7 of the 30 tests in 2000, and on 4 of the 30 tests in 1999.

Other highlights of the results include:

• Over the five-year period, Black students narrowed the achievement gap by 112 aggregate percentile points, with Asian students narrowing the gap by 58 points and Hispanic students by 44 points.

• For the current year, grade 4 average scores for the total group ranged from the 60th percentile in reading vocabulary to the 82nd percentile in science.

• Grade 6 average scores for the total group ranged from the 70th percentile in vocabulary, language, and social science to the 86th percentile for math problem solving.

• Grade 9 average scores for the total group ranged from the 65th percentile in math procedures to the 83rd percentile in science.

The Stanford 9 TA is a nationally normed achievement test that was administered to FCPS students in grades 4, 6, and 9 in October 2002. The Stanford 9 TA is required by the Virginia Department of Education as part of the Virginia State Assessment program. The results of this test help to guide instructional decision making at the school, pyramid, cluster, and county levels. In addition, student performance on this assessment is an integral part of the division's Schoolwide Achievement Index, the accountability method used by FCPS to gauge and encourage improvement at the school level.

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Note: Attached are the FCPS results of the Stanford 9TA test in table form. For more information, contact Kathy Oliver, FCPS Office of Student Testing, at 703-208-7776.

Table 1 - FCPS Stanford Achievement Series, Ninth Edition (Stanford 9 TA)
Average Scores by Ethnicity, 1998-1999 Through 2002-2003