Last spring, members of the current senior class participated in mandatory California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) testing, which consisted of math, English and science state tests. Following the school’s trend of exceeding the county and state results, the seniors’ results were again exceptional, considerably higher than average state results.
In comparison to 2022-23, all student subgroups improved in English and Language Arts (ELA), while very nearly all subgroups declined slightly in Math and Science. In ELA, the percentage of students who met or exceeded standard increased by six percentage points, from 79% to 85%. In math and in science, the percentage of students who met or exceeded standard decreased by three percentage points 74% from to 71%.
Among all high school districts in California, the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District had the second highest scores in both ELA and Math. Overall, 71% of the Class of 2025 met or exceeded the standard on the math exam.
These results may partly come from the high numbers of honors or AP classes that students in the district take. Of the 294 students in the Class of ‘25, 205 took English 11 Honors, 143 took at least one Honors or AP math course and 202 took at least one Honors or AP science course last year.
Ever since CAASPP testing began in 2015, the district has exceeded the county and state averages — a trend that shows no signs of changing.
“I think the simplest answer [to why SHS students achieve such high scores] is that the Saratoga student body is made up of exceptionally talented students and they benefit from the instruction provided by a faculty made up of many outstanding teachers,” the district’s director of continuous improvement and accountability Patrick Bernhardt said.
