Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
County Tops State Average in English, Math — if Fresno Unified Isn't Counted
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
October 29, 2019

Share

Nearly three-fourths of Fresno County students scored above the state average on both English language arts and mathematics standardized tests last year.
In fact, the same contingent of Fresno County students tested above the state average in English language arts for the past three years.


Listen to this article:

But when you add in the remaining one-fourth, the county’s test scores dip below the state average for both English and math.
Those students who are dragging down the county average? They’re attending Fresno Unified schools.
(GV Wire/Alexis DeSha)
(GV Wire/Alexis DeSha)

Fresno Unified Still Lags County, State

The academic performance findings were provided in a recent communication from Fresno Unified staff to district trustees. The report looks at five years of data for meeting or exceeding proficiency standards on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Tests that are administered at the end of the school year to students in grades three through eight and 11.
The report found that when Fresno Unified scores are subtracted from Fresno County’s totals, the county outperformed the state average in both English and math last year — for the first time over the past five years.
The Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Office did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

District Posts Bigger Gains Than County, State

“Fresno Unified students reside in much more challenging ZIP codes … yet those who work in Fresno Unified have embraced this challenge and are working hard every day to ensure that all students grow and achieve.”Katie Russell, FUSD instructional superintendent
Katie Russell, Fresno Unified’s instructional superintendent, said the assessment results also show that the district improved at a faster pace than the county or state over the past five years.
She noted that Fresno Unified topped both the rest of the county and the state with an 11.7% gain in math assessment scores over the five years. The county, minus Fresno Unified, had a 9.7% increase in math, compared with a 4.7% increase for the state over that time period.
In addition, she said, the district tied the rest of the county with a 10.5% improvement in English language assessments, compared with the state’s gain of 6.9% over the same period.
Those gains occurred even though Fresno Unified has a greater percentage of students who are in low-income homes, or are English learners or in the foster system, Russell said. In Fresno, nearly 89% of students are disadvantaged, English learners or in foster care, compared to 69% for the rest of Fresno County and 45% for the state as a whole, she said.
“As you can see the demographics are not similar,” Russell told GV Wire in an email interview. “Fresno Unified students reside in much more challenging ZIP codes … yet those who work in Fresno Unified have embraced this challenge and are working hard every day to ensure that all students grow and achieve.”

Focus on Math Instruction

Fresno Unified’s math scores have been climbing about 3% yearly over the past four years, according to the district report. The district made improving math instruction a goal for the past two years, focusing on student performance and teacher instructional strategies, Russell said.

“We will continue to ensure that we close the achievement gap by focusing on the skills students need to improve a grade level or more each year.”Katie Russell, FUSD instructional superintendent
Through the use of “professional learning communities,” she said, the district encourages a collaborative culture among staffers who identify through testing results and other information when students need assistance and provide interventions that promote continuous improvement and help close achievement gaps.
Russell said the district’s four-year growth trend in English and math scores is due in part to how Fresno Unified has allocated money provided through the state’s Local Control Funding Formula, which gives additional money to school districts with high numbers of disadvantaged students, such as Fresno.
The district has used those funds for additional instructional time at 40 schools (including more hours for teacher professional learning), expanding early learning programs, supports for English-language learning and African American student performance acceleration, more middle school teachers to reduce class sizes and interventions, and eliminating combination grade classes in elementary schools, she said.
“Fresno Unified will continue to focus on the strategies that we’ve been implementing over the last several years that have led to student academic growth in both ELA and math,” Russell said. “We will continue to ensure that we close the achievement gap by focusing on the skills students need to improve a grade level or more each year.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

Fresno Trustees Choose District Insider Misty Her for New Superintendent

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Celebrate Earth Day by Planting 5 Valley Oaks

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

How Do High Schoolers Really Fare After Graduation? A New California Tool Lets You Know

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

8 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

9 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

9 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

9 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

10 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

10 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

11 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

12 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

12 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

12 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

6 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

8 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
8 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

9 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
9 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

9 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
10 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend