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 6 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

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

DON'T MISS

Man Fatally Shot in Southeast Fresno, Suspect Arrested After Traffic Stop

DON'T MISS

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ruth Fire Burns 10 Acres Near Dunlap, Cause Under Investigation

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Waters Down Infill Housing Tool. Perea Says Compromise Could Be Worse

DON'T MISS

US Judge Orders Release of Pro-Palestinian Activist Khalil

DON'T MISS

Israel Tells UN Security Council “We Will Not Stop” Iran Attacks

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Three in Stolen Car With Gun and Fentanyl

DON'T MISS

Hips Don’t Lie, and Neither Do Ticket Sales: Shakira Adds Fresno Show

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

UP NEXT

California Politicians Agree on School Money, but Poor Test Scores Need Attention

UP NEXT

Massive Security Breach: 16 Billion Passwords Leaked From Apple, Google, Facebook Accounts

UP NEXT

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Resuming Student Visa Appointments, Official Says

UP NEXT

Proposed Law Would Allow Big Raises for School Board Members

UP NEXT

Musk Shares Negative Drug Test Results, Challenges Media Outlets

UP NEXT

‘A Time of Bitter Celebrations’: Joy and Fear as LA Students Graduate Amid ICE Raids

UP NEXT

Hurricane Erick Threatens Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Rapid Strengthening Expected

UP NEXT

They Said She Was Homeschooled. She Said She Was Locked in a Dog Crate.

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

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

6 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

7 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

7 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

7 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

7 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Possible Over Next Week

7 hours ago

Ohio Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening US Congressman Max Miller

7 hours ago

Town Hall Unveils New Season With Best-Selling Authors, ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, and More

8 hours ago

Trump Says His Spy Chief Gabbard Wrong on Iran’s Nuclear Program

9 hours ago

Fresno Police Investigate Fatal Shooting, Seek Public’s Help

9 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Louisiana from enforcing a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of ...

5 hours ago

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of restrictions imposed by lower courts on its ability to encourage social media companies to remove content deemed misinformation, in Washington, U.S., March 18, 2024. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Law Struck Down by US Appeals Court

A view of the Voice of America (VOA) building, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

A farmworker repairs irrigation lines at a tomato farm in Woodland, California, U.S. May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump Administration Says It Is Suspending Enforcement of Biden-Era Farmworker Rule

The Ruth Fire in Yokuts Valley has burned 14 acres, destroyed one structure on Friday, June 20, 2025,, and is 20% contained as firefighters continue battling the blaze in steep terrain. (CalFire)
6 hours ago

Fresno County’s Ruth Fire Destroys Structure in Yokuts Valley

A federal appeals court struck down California’s “one-gun-per-month” law Friday, June 20, 2025, in a 3-0 decision, ruling it unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. (Shutterstock)
7 hours ago

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

Cage-Free chickens are shown inside a facility in Lakeside, California, U.S., April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

USDA Develops Potential Plan to Vaccinate Poultry for Bird Flu

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon his arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., June 20, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
7 hours ago

Trump Says He May Support Israel-Iran Ceasefire ‘Depending on Circumstances’

7 hours ago

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

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

Search

Send this to a friend