Why did local test scores plummet at Sonoma Valley schools?

Amid a pandemic period rocked by upheaval in education, the share of students in the Sonoma Valley Unified School District meeting or exceeding state test score standards declined by 5.5 percentage points in English and 6.9 percentage points in math in 2022, compared to 2019.

SVUSD results from the Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, issued by the California Department of Education, show that 36.8% of students met the standard in English language arts in 2022, compared with 42.3% in 2019, and that 19.9% achieved it in math, as opposed to 26.8% in 2019.

“I cannot ascribe causality to changes other than citing the impact of the pandemic and the amount of time that students did not get best, first instruction, in-person learning opportunities with our dedicated, caring teachers,” said Elizabeth Kaufman, associate superintendent of educational services for the district.

The percentage-point decline mirrored countywide setbacks in English and math scores during the same period — one also convulsed by wildfires that interrupted remote-based classes for days.

In Sonoma County, the share of students meeting or exceeding test standards slipped from 50.4% to 44.9% (5.5 percentage points) in English, and 37.9% to 31% (6.9 points) in math.

Across California, the numbers declined from 51.1% to 47.15% (4 points) in English and 39.7% to 33.4% (6.3 points) in math.

“It is difficult to ascribe causality to any score differences, given that each district had a different response and resources for supporting students over the pandemic, with some [California] districts returning to in-person instruction much earlier than Sonoma County schools,” Kaufman said.

Jennie Snyder, deputy superintendent of schools for the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), said that other reasons could account for the decline in test scores.

“We do know that COVID-19 represented a significant disruption to student learning,” she said. “Distance learning, illnesses among staff and school families, quarantine and isolation periods that took staff out of classrooms and other factors compounded the challenges that schools faced. But it’s impossible to know if that was the 'main reason’ percentages declined, and I would rather not speculate about what other factors might be at play.”

She notes that in Sonoma Valley, classroom instruction was disrupted by the Nuns Fire in 2017 and the Glass Fire in 2020, as well as by wildfire smoke, most notably during the Camp Fire in 2018.

“All these events before and during the pandemic took a toll on our students’ social-emotional health and well-being, Snyder said. “It’s harder to learn when you’re stressed out. But we have learned from these disruptions about the need to provide students with extra support.”

Among the SVUSD schools showing the largest decreases in the 2022 tests, Altimira Middle School slipped from 37.1% to 26.7% (10.4 percentage points) in English and 20.4% to 7.3% (13.1 points) in math; Dunbar Elementary School fell from 31.1% to 19.4% (11.7 points) in English and 21.1% to 11.9% in math; and Prestwood Elementary School dropped from 56% to 40% (16 points) in English and 46.7% to 37.4% (9.2 points) in math.

Three district schools also recorded improvements: Creekside High School rose from 5.0% to 8.3% (3.3 points) in English; El Verano Elementary School improved from 20.3% to 30.7% (10.4 points) in English and 14% to 17.9% (3.9 points) in math; and Sassarini Elementary School increased from 26.3% to 26.4% (0. 1 point) in English and 15.3% to 22.2% (6.9 points) in math.

Kaufman says that at the elementary level, the district’s system-wide focus has been to effectively implement tier 1 curriculum [general, foundational instruction], including Bridges & Number Corner in math, Wonders-Maravillas for English language arts and English development, and Second Step for social-emotional learning.

“With many variables at play, it is difficult to determine why scores change for positive or negative, though,” she said. “We do know that all students will benefit from consistent, daily instruction of the district’s adopted English language arts, mathematics and social-emotional curriculum as a means of providing students with the guaranteed and viable curriculum they need to benefit from instruction across the elementary grades.”

The portion of students meeting test score standards in English in 2022 exceeds the percentage doing so in math by 16.9 percentage points in SVUSD, 13.9 percentage points in Sonoma County and 13.75 points in California. In 2019, the numbers were 15.5 points in SVUSD, 12.5 points in Sonoma County and 11.4 points in California.

“Our trend in math replicates the state and the nation,” Kaufman said. “There are likely many variables at play in the difference between English language arts and math scores. Our obligation is to know each student’s individual needs and to figure our what’s needed to support each student in achieving grade-level standards. We are fortunate to have dedicated staff and resources that can support multiple tiers of support for our learners.”

SVUSD, like other local school districts, is also receiving support from the county. Snyder says that SCOE’s fastest-growing department is its behavioral health team, which was launched in the aftermath of the 2017 fires and provides support to school districts after disasters and other traumatic events. The team also helped develop a playbook for large-scale disruptions and has advised other county offices of education throughout the state.

Statewide efforts include providing students with access to engaging learning activities before and after school as well as during the summers, and making significant investments in early learning to take a proactive approach to student achievement. This includes districts phasing in an additional grade level for 4-year-olds, transitional kindergarten, this year to help ensure that students have a solid foundation.

Kaufman says that SVUSD will continue to build multitiered systems of support and focus on individual student needs.

“Our focus now is ensuring that all students are provided with instruction that ensures they have consistent access to and support in achieving grade-level standards, using district-adopted curriculum and courses of study,” she said. “From there, we are using regular assessments to identify specific individual needs so that we can meet each individual student’s needs.

“This is complex work, especially for a pre-K system, and post-pandemic we are building and rebuilding simultaneously. We have amazing and dedicated staff, and we will work together to support all our learners.”

She says that as the district rebounds, it welcomes anyone who is willing to register to substitute for teachers who are ill.

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.