Roughly 6 in every 10 Manteca Unified students are exceeding, meeting or nearly meeting new state standards for English and math.

First year results from California’s new version of standardized testing — the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress — was released Wednesday by the State Department of Education.

Since it is the first year of testing, the results will be used as a base to judge progress in future years. The computer based test is considered to be more reflective of individual student’s grasp of subjects. The computer-adaptive tests provide appropriately challenging test question based upon the individual student’s abilities.  That is designed to make the results not just more precise but to provide effective diagnostic data about a student’s learning.

The test also has another component that previous ones did not have — usable individual results. The state will receive the individual student score reports later this month. They will be mailed to parents/guardians along with a guide explaining how to read and understand the results.

“Our district and the state-wide education system are in the midst of far-reaching transition,” noted Manteca Unified Superintendent Jason Messer in a prepared statement. “Manteca Unified is focused on implementing new standards of learning, continuing teacher training that targets those new standards, and committed to delivering that learning to our students through digital technology. New challenges bring great opportunities for our students as we help prepare them for a successful future in college and the workplace. Over time, I fully expect our students to make huge strides in growth within the new assessment system just as we experienced under the old system. I’m confident that our teachers and staff will continue to promote high student achievement.

“As always, we greatly appreciate our dedicated teachers and the extraordinary efforts of our students along with the support of their families and our community.”

 The English and math tests were given to third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 11 graders.

Overall it showed district students performing as follows :

language arts/literacy, 8 percent exceed state standards.

in language arts/literacy, 27 percent meet state standards.

in language arts/literacy, 31 percent nearly meet state standards.

in language arts/literacy, 35 percent do not meet state standards.

in math, 6 percent exceed state standards.

in math, 18 percent meet state standards.

in math, 34 percent nearly meet state standards.

in math, 42 percent do not meet state standards.

 Science paper testing is being conducted for the fifth eighth and 10th grades.

The following are points the district indicated parents and the community should understand about the tests:

 Since the new assessments are so different from the old tests we can’t make comparisons between the new and old. They are different tests measuring different standards.

The new standards are more challenging for schools to teach and students to learn, and have been in use for only a short time. Just as when schools began the previous assessment  system (STAR), the early scores will leave room for improvement—that’s expected when major  changes happen. In the past, Manteca Unified students demonstrated year-to-year improvement, and that  will happen again as teachers and students better understand and adapt to the new standards  and assessments.

This year’s results set a new starting point for progress the district will expect students to make over  time.

Results will help parents and teachers understand where their students are succeeding and where they might need some extra help.

State testing results are only one way to measure student progress. These results are one more piece of information about how well students are learning, like grades on tests and classroom assignments.

Since the CAASPP system is so new, state education leaders have determined that scores from student testing in the spring of 2015 will not be used to set an official baseline or targets for student achievement.

Teachers and schools will use the data to help identify how well students have learned grade level content and will communicate that information to parents and guardians.

Results will be used to identify any areas where students may need extra help and what additional instruction may be needed.

The district will also use the information to strengthen staff development and training.

Manteca Unified will continue to use assessment data to focus on continuing growth for all students.