Letter: Skewed Statistics

It was discouraging to read the recent article written in your paper about Point Dume Marine Science School’s (PDMSS) test scores. The paper neglected to provide information that gives an accurate picture of testing, student growth and the work of teachers at PDMSS.

One fact missing from the article is that this is the same PDMSS staff that helped students score in the 80th and 90th percentile on previous state tests. They are still providing high quality, rigorous instruction in alignment with the other schools in the district. Another fact missing is data from last year’s district assessments. The article could have reported that all students in third through fifth grades at our school had at least a 25 percent increase over the course of last year, moving them from a below basic ability into an advanced or proficient reading range. Specifically, third graders had a 28 percent increase, fourth graders a 33 percent increase and, fifth graders a 44 percent increase. It could have highlighted that on the recent CAASP tests, 70 percent of all fifth graders met or exceeded the standard in English Language Arts. 

The paper chose to mostly focus on third graders at PDMSS and gave two possible reasons for the score discrepancies, leaving out an important detail — sample size. Anyone with a basic understanding of statistics knows that the statistical power of making or implying a generalization from a small sample size is misleading. The number of third graders tested was 25. The notion that these third graders’ statistical performance on CAASP could somehow be a representation of teaching traits and student growth at PDMSS is erroneous.

A competing paper chose to emphasize that last year’s performance on CAASP is truly a starting point for all educators. The results from CAASP will help us to refine our teaching as well as examine how we prepare students for the new testing format. 

I am proud of our school and the work that students have accomplished. The teachers at PDMSS work hard and are dedicated to making it a great place for students to learn.

Chris Cullen

PDMSS teacher