Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno Unified Says No Thanks to Big City Schools Assessment
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 2 years ago on
October 26, 2022

Share

Fresno Unified won’t have to worry about being lumped together this year with other low-performing big city school districts like Detroit and Milwaukee.

The district opted out of participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment, a district-level assessment in the Nation’s Report Card, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

The testing evaluates fourth- and eighth-graders in reading and math.

Results from NAEP, including the big city assessments, and from state testing assessment data released Monday by the California Department of Education have provided further evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting school closures were costly to student achievement.

However, even though California’s NAEP reading and math scores dropped from 2019 to 2022, the decline was less steep than the national average, the Education Department reported.

The department noted that Los Angeles Unified was the only TUDA participant to show significant gains in eighth-grade reading scores.

Los Angeles was one of the six original districts that in 2002 joined the TUDA study, which was funded by Congress to provide a district-level assessment using NAEP data. Districts were selected to participate based on size, percentages of African American and Hispanic students, and percentages of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals.

FUSD Only District to Opt Out

Fresno Unified, which joined the TUDA assessments in 2009, was the only district among the current 26 listed not to participate in 2022.

FUSD spokeswoman Diana Diaz said COVID-related staff shortages and “the continued challenge of student attendance” caused officials to decide to withdraw from this year’s comparison.

“Given the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the COVID pandemic and other emotional strains on students and families, we decided all voluntary assessments would be curtailed for 2022,” Diaz said in an email to GV Wire.

A small sample of Fresno Unified schools did participate in the state of California NAEP sample, she said.

The district’s decision “was in no way a reflection of the TUDA program or NAEP assessment staff,” Diaz said.

Other Testing Already Showed Achievement Drops

Portrait of Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas
Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas

Board President Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said the district wouldn’t have learned anything from the TUDA assessment that it didn’t already know from its internal iReady testing and the state’s Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments.

“Unless there’s something I’m missing, it’s not going to give us anything additional,” she said.

The district had previously reported its SBAC testing results: 32% percent of the students tested met or exceeded standards in English language arts, and 21% met or exceeded standards in math. A total of 35,620 students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 participated in the SBAC testing last year.

By comparison, in the 2018-19 school year — the last year in which grades 3 to 8 and 11 in Fresno Unified were all tested — 38% met or exceeded standards in English, and nearly 30% met or exceeded standards in math. Students were not tested in the spring of 2020 because schools were closed due to the pandemic, and only 11th graders were tested last year.

Less Testing, More Learning

Even though Fresno Unified hasn’t made any decision over whether to rejoin the TUDA study in 2024, Jonasson Rosas said she wants the district to focus more on the assessment tests that are mandatory and to try to spare students from the ones that are optional.

FUSD Trustee Valerie Davis

She said she has spoken to parents who are concerned that the district is “testing to death” and that testing is taking away from teaching time.

Jonasson Rosas said she’s not worried about an interruption in Fresno Unified’s participation in the TUDA longitudinal study. “A pre-COVID and post-COVID comparison, I don’t know if it’s of any help,” she said.

Trustee Valerie Davis, who was on the School Board when Fresno Unified joined the TUDA study in 2009, said the benefit to the district was in showing growth in student proficiency over time.

But as to comparisons among big city school districts, Davis said she saw no value in them because districts don’t have identical characteristics, such as student demographics, teacher-student ratios, or whether employees are unionized.

Fresno Unified is transparent about reporting student performance, whether it’s individually to parents or on the new Superintendent’s Dashboard that the board will review at tonight’s meeting, she said.

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

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

DON'T MISS

Chargers Choose North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton in Effort to Boost Offense

DON'T MISS

49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Immigration Approval Ratings Decline as Enforcement Tactics Lose Support

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Tased, Arrested After Suspected Reckless DUI in Kerman

DON'T MISS

Madera Vehicle Burglary Leads to Arrests, Gang Charges for Juveniles

DON'T MISS

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

DON'T MISS

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

DON'T MISS

Alphabet Says Waymo May Offer Robotaxis for Personal Ownership in Future

DON'T MISS

US Pharma Tariffs Would Raise US Drug Costs by $51 Billion Annually, Report Finds

UP NEXT

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

UP NEXT

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

UP NEXT

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

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

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’s Immigration Approval Ratings Decline as Enforcement Tactics Lose Support

32 minutes ago

Fresno Man Tased, Arrested After Suspected Reckless DUI in Kerman

37 minutes ago

Madera Vehicle Burglary Leads to Arrests, Gang Charges for Juveniles

52 minutes ago

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

1 hour ago

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

1 hour ago

Alphabet Says Waymo May Offer Robotaxis for Personal Ownership in Future

1 hour ago

US Pharma Tariffs Would Raise US Drug Costs by $51 Billion Annually, Report Finds

1 hour ago

Beware of Scammers Saying You Won the Publishers Clearing House Drawing

2 hours ago

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

2 hours ago

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

2 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

Deion Sanders insisted at Colorado’s pro day that Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders should go 1-2 in the NFL draft. He was talking abo...

8 minutes ago

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) throws a pass against Central Florida during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP File)
8 minutes ago

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

12 minutes ago

Chargers Choose North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton in Effort to Boost Offense

20 minutes ago

49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP File)
32 minutes ago

Trump’s Immigration Approval Ratings Decline as Enforcement Tactics Lose Support

A Fresno man was arrested in Kerman on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, after allegedly driving recklessly, resisting arrest, and showing signs of being under the influence, police said. (Kerman PD)
37 minutes ago

Fresno Man Tased, Arrested After Suspected Reckless DUI in Kerman

A pedestrian was killed in a traffic collision early Monday morning in Madera, and police are asking for witnesses to come forward.
52 minutes ago

Madera Vehicle Burglary Leads to Arrests, Gang Charges for Juveniles

1 hour ago

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

Demonstrators hold a banner during a "Stand Up for Internationals" rally on the campus of Berkeley University in Berkeley, California, U.S., April 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
1 hour ago

US Universities Help Foreign Students Weather Trump Deportations

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

Search

Send this to a friend