Our school’s standing among Bay Area high schools has always fluctuated, with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test being a contributing factor in the performance assessment of these schools. With MHS more strongly encouraging SBAC testing through stricter waiving policies and generally greater student participation, the school’s standardized test scores have increased drastically, ending a downward trend in test scores in recent years.
According to the California Teachers Association, California law mandates that parents have the option to opt their students out of any state-mandated assessments. In previous years, MHS had relatively light restrictions towards juniors who wanted to skip the SBAC tests, simply requiring their parents to opt them out, which resulted in a large number of students not taking the exam. In the 2021-22 school year, 517 out of 714 students took the English Language Arts (ELA) test and 404 out of 714 students took the Math test, according to the California School Dashboard website. However, according to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (caaspp.org), students who do not take the SBAC are automatically given the lowest possible score, which led to a dramatic drop in MHS test scores in that year, bringing the scores for both categories below California’s standard score.
MHS implemented new policies in the 2022-23 school year in order to encourage more students to take the assessment, which has led to a large increase in participation for the test. Although MHS students are still allowed to opt out of the test by California law, the school directly discouraged parents from allowing their children to opt out, and required a parent conference to those who still desired to opt out, as seen in an email by MUSD CAASP Coordinator Maurissa Koide. As a result, a total of 722 students took the ELA portion of the SBAC last year, while 723 students took the Math portion out of a total of 791 students, according to California School Dashboard. The increased participation directly led to a 134.1 point increase for ELA scores and 124.4 point increase in Math scores, bringing MHS above the standard level of test scores for both categories, albeit only slightly above for math.
On the surface, better SBAC performances may not seem particularly impactful to students, but the effects are much greater than one might expect. For example, colleges evaluate students in the context of their school’s overall performance, which is generally compiled into a profile report that is submitted by the high school itself, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Data such as the student population, grades, and standardized test scores are included in this report. With better school performances, the student will give the impression of succeeding within a competitive environment, which makes their application more impressive to universities.
MHS’s more favorable standing can also help attract more families to the city, as parents would be more inclined to enroll their children into MUSD. As parents are more willing to enroll students into MUSD, it will directly encourage more people to move into Milpitas, which will also help grow the city itself by contributing more to businesses and resources. Furthermore, by raising the demand for houses in Milpitas, home prices will also increase, which can benefit homeowners.
Overall, MHS’s new approach to the SBAC has led to a positive trend in our school’s SBAC participation and scores, and we welcome this new school policy. MHS should continue to encourage further SBAC testing in order to continue to better our community.