This year’s senior class has something to celebrate, as they rose to the occasion on last year’s CAASPP exam.
Burroughs students made major gains on the April 2025 test. Last year’s scores showed a 16% improvement in English Language Arts, a 9% improvement in math, and a 7% improvement in science over the previous year’s scores. Asst. Principal Elijah Colpitts credited the recent improvement to a schoolwide effort by the Burroughs staff in all subject areas, not just math, science and English.
“Our teachers [did] a fantastic job of incorporating CAASPP-style questions into their classrooms,” Colpitts said. “This helped expose students to the types of questions and gave them experience in thinking about those questions.”
While this may sound like “teaching to the test,” Colpitts argues that it’s just helping students show what they know in the way the state requires it.
“Our goal is to prepare students for the type of questions that are asked on the CAASPP,” said Colpitts. “I have no doubt that our students are learning the content, but some of the structure of the questions on the CAASPP can be new and frustrating. As long as we continue exposing students to the style of questions and building them into our existing content structures, we will continue to trend upwards.”
According to Colpitts, the test serves to showcase what students understand and have learned during their time at Burroughs, and to identify areas for growth.
“When our students do well, it shows the state of California and the whole United States how excellent our teaching staff is in preparing our students for a challenging post-high school life,” said Colpitts. “Conversely, when we do not score well, it shows that we still have room to grow and that we can find ways to better serve our students and deliver the content in a way that better prepares them.”
Math Department Chair Katie Wadley said her colleagues are excited about the increase in CAASPP scores, which she too linked to the increased school-wide focus on CAASPP testing achievement. Familiarizing students with the test questions and rubrics empowered them to put forth their best efforts.
“During the math testing season, many students appeared engaged and invested in the test,” said Wadley. “It is wonderful to see their hard work pay off! This year, we plan to incorporate more CAASPP-style assessment questions throughout the year and will continue to review performance tasks and rubrics. We are hoping for another increase during the 2026 testing season!”
With four sections of juniors last year, English teacher Rosemary Gilbert was feeling the pressure to prepare them for the exam.
“Last year’s eleventh-grade classes put 110% effort into the spring CAASPP test,” said Gilbert. “They took seriously our prep assignments, and on testing days they mindfully worked through the questions and the essay. To say I am proud of my students is an understatement. They showed focus and determination.”
Even with all that focus and determination, the four days of testing earned some understandably harsh criticism.
“Gotta be one of the most tedious tests you take during high school,” said senior Maggie Pham.
ASB is currently planning a pizza party to reward students who experienced a growth in scores or who earned a “Meets” or “Exceeds Expectations” score.
