Merwin Elementary: english

The shaded band is this school's normal range. If nothing about how it works changes, nearly every future year should land inside it. Zero means the typical student just meets the state standard. The small numbers under the years are how many students were tested.

Measured against the grade bars

The state's English test uses one scale for every grade, so a score means the same thing in grade 3 as in grade 5.

3rd The average 3rd grader scores just under the grade 3 bar. 2424 vs. 2432.
4th The average 4th grader scores 19 points under the grade 4 bar. 2454 vs. 2473.
5th The average 5th grader scores 12 points under the grade 5 bar. 2490 vs. 2502.

2026 results. The English test covers reading, writing, listening and research together. "Meets standard" is the state's mark for being on track for that grade.

Step 1 · Each year's result

For each grade tested, take the average (mean) scale score from the California Department of Education's results file, and subtract the lowest score that counts as "Standard Met" for that grade. That is the grade's distance from standard. Weight each grade by its share of the students tested, then add the grades up. Grades where the state hides the average because ten or fewer students tested are left out entirely.

2015 from sb_ca2015_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	22,482	2415.6	− 2432	−16.4	× 51 / 195	−4.3
4	22,485	2438.2	− 2473	−34.8	× 70 / 195	−12.5
5	22,486	2490.7	− 2502	−11.3	× 74 / 195	−4.3
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−21

2016 from sb_ca2016_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,175	2424.7	− 2432	−7.3	× 57 / 170	−2.4
4	21,177	2422.5	− 2473	−50.5	× 49 / 170	−14.6
5	21,179	2486.0	− 2502	−16	× 64 / 170	−6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−23

2017 from sb_ca2017_1_csv_v2.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,543	2445.7	− 2432	13.7	× 71 / 179	5.4
4	21,545	2444.6	− 2473	−28.4	× 57 / 179	−9
5	21,547	2457.9	− 2502	−44.1	× 51 / 179	−12.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−16

2018 from sb_ca2018_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,522	2451.9	− 2432	19.9	× 77 / 250	6.1
4	21,524	2440.4	− 2473	−32.6	× 88 / 250	−11.5
5	21,526	2479.3	− 2502	−22.7	× 85 / 250	−7.7
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−13

2019 from sb_ca2019_1_csv_v4.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,691	2464.1	− 2432	32.1	× 74 / 238	10
4	21,692	2459.7	− 2473	−13.3	× 82 / 238	−4.6
5	21,693	2517.6	− 2502	15.6	× 82 / 238	5.4
Sum, rounded to a whole point						11

2022 from sb_ca2022_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,666	2440.6	− 2432	8.6	× 69 / 197	3
4	21,667	2463.7	− 2473	−9.3	× 58 / 197	−2.7
5	21,668	2485.6	− 2502	−16.4	× 70 / 197	−5.8
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−6

2023 from sb_ca2023_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,641	2430.6	− 2432	−1.4	× 52 / 194	−0.4
4	21,642	2439.1	− 2473	−33.9	× 74 / 194	−12.9
5	21,643	2499.5	− 2502	−2.5	× 68 / 194	−0.9
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−14

2024 from sb_ca2024_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,507	2418.8	− 2432	−13.2	× 69 / 202	−4.5
4	21,508	2461.5	− 2473	−11.5	× 64 / 202	−3.6
5	21,509	2496.4	− 2502	−5.6	× 69 / 202	−1.9
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−10

2025 from sb_ca2025_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,414	2427.8	− 2432	−4.2	× 67 / 201	−1.4
4	21,415	2456.4	− 2473	−16.6	× 72 / 201	−5.9
5	21,416	2499.3	− 2502	−2.7	× 62 / 201	−0.8
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−8

2026 from sb_ca2026_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	21,470	2424.4	− 2432	−7.6	× 79 / 218	−2.8
4	21,471	2454.1	− 2473	−18.9	× 67 / 218	−5.8
5	21,472	2490.0	− 2502	−12	× 72 / 218	−4
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−13

Step 2 · The average and the normal range

Average: add the yearly results and divide by how many there are. −21, −23, −16, −13, 11, −6, −14, −10, −8, −13 → −11.3
Typical year-to-year change: how far the result moved from each year to the next, ignoring up or down. 2015→2016: 2 · 2016→2017: 7 · 2017→2018: 3 · 2018→2019: 24 · 2019→2022: 17 · 2022→2023: 8 · 2023→2024: 4 · 2024→2025: 2 · 2025→2026: 5 → average 8
Normal range: multiply the typical change by 2.66, then add it to the average and subtract it. 8 × 2.66 = 21.3. Upper limit 10, lower limit −32.6.

Why 2.66? It is the standard factor from quality control, the work of Walter Shewhart and W. Edwards Deming. It turns "how much the result typically changes in a year" into "how far it can wander by chance alone".

Years with no result (no state tests were given in spring 2020) are skipped: the year-to-year change runs from the last year with a result to the next one.

Step 3 · Free or reduced-price meals

The share of enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. From 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26.