Academic Comparison

Christian Community Schools administers Stanford Achievement Tests (SAT) to all students grades 1-8 every year, usually in the month of April. The main reason for administering a nationally standardized achievement test is to obtain information that compares our students’ performances with that of other students across the nation. This information is valuable not only within our school, but is accepted across the nation if a family should decide to move.

A grade equivalent represents the average performance of students tested in a given month of the school year. The Stanford grade equivalent scale ranges from K.0 (beginning Kindergarten) and scores above 12.9 designated PHS (post high school). The numeral to the left of the decimal point refers to the grade for which the score is typical, and the numeral to the right of the decimal point represents one-tenth of the school year, or one school month. For example, a grade equivalent of 5.1 represents the typical performance of the national sample of fifth graders taking Stanford between the middle of September and the middle of October.

An example of Grade Equivalency

The grade equivalent of 5.9 simply means that this student’s score is about the same as what the typical score of fifth graders would have been had they taken the third-grade test in the ninth month of the school year. While this student’s performance may be far superior to that of most third graders, the level of achievement is not necessarily typical of that of a fifth grader.

Comparison of CCS Scores to National Norms

A study done by the National Center for Education Statistics, which gives the state profiles in reading and math for 4th grade and 8th grade students for the year 2004, alarmed residents of California by positioning our public schools almost at the bottom of the list of our fifty states in both areas of review. This test is not the same as our SAT 10 tests which we take in the spring each year. However, both have had norms that are nationally calculated on a percentile scale and have questions that are based on national standards. Because of this we can make an approximate comparison that will be explained further. The following chart compares the average percentage of 4th and 8th grade students in the California public schools with the same level of student in CCS in the areas of reading and math. From these comparisons you can presume that the rest of the grades would reflect similar percentages.