Kids don’t care about scores

Re “The truth about test scores,” editorial, Oct. 7

The Times Editorial Board asks about California’s standardized test results, “What’s with that abysmal showing by 11thgraders?”

I have taught 11th-grade English for 13 years, and I have been the primary state test administrator at my school. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress results are not a true representation of 11th-graders’ abilities or skills.

These tests are essentially compulsory, and 11th-grade students must take four hours of online testing in English and another four hours of testing in math. When presented with eight hours of intense examination, 11thgraders ask, “Does this affect my semester grade or college admissions?”

The answer being no, most students don’t do their best work. In contrast, many high school students are motivated to give their very best efforts on SAT and ACT tests.

David Waldowski

Laguna Woods

The Times asks the right question: Are schools using funding the right way to help disadvantaged students? Research gives us a clear direction.

Reading achievement is strongly related to how much pleasure-reading students do, which in turn is strongly related to access to books, which in turn is related to school and public library quality. For students living in poverty, libraries often provide their only access to books.

School libraries in California have improved in the last decade, with increased numbers of books per student, but there is one area they need help. Research shows that presence of credentialed school librarians makes a strong contribution to improving reading achievement. Only 9% of California school libraries have credentialed librarians, compared with the national average of 66%.

Stephen Krashen

Los Angeles The writer is a professor emeritus of education at USC.