Orange County Special Education: math

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 3 bar

The state's math test uses one scale for every grade, so a score means the same thing in grade 3 as in grade 7.

Many students here are still learning English. The math test is written in English, with some translation help, and many of its questions are word problems. In 2026, 7 of the 12 students who took the math test were English learners.

7th The average 7th grader scores 31 points under the grade 3 bar. 2405 vs. 2436. The 7th-grade bar is 2567.

2026 results. "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
7	47,791	2379.8	− 2567	−187.2	× 18 / 49	−68.8
8	47,792	2379.3	− 2586	−206.7	× 16 / 49	−67.5
11	47,795	2479.1	− 2628	−148.9	× 15 / 49	−45.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−182

2016 from sb_ca2016_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
7	44,448	2416.7	− 2567	−150.3	× 15 / 33	−68.3
8	44,449	2418.4	− 2586	−167.6	× 18 / 33	−91.4
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−160

2017 from sb_ca2017_1_csv_v2.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
8	45,611	2391.3	− 2586	−194.7	× 13 / 31	−81.6
11	45,613	2448.9	− 2628	−179.1	× 18 / 31	−104
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−186

2018 from sb_ca2018_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
11	45,630	2427.1	− 2628	−200.9	× 16 / 16	−200.9
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−201

2019 from sb_ca2019_1_csv_v4.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
7	45,806	2371.8	− 2567	−195.2	× 17 / 34	−97.6
11	45,808	2468.5	− 2628	−159.5	× 17 / 34	−79.8
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−177

2021 from sb_ca2021_1_csv_v2.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
7	44,461	2366.3	− 2567	−200.7	× 14 / 26	−108.1
8	44,462	2378.9	− 2586	−207.1	× 12 / 26	−95.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−204

2022 from sb_ca2022_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
8	45,545	2354.4	− 2586	−231.6	× 14 / 14	−231.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−232

2023 from sb_ca2023_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
7	45,522	2311.9	− 2567	−255.1	× 11 / 28	−100.2
11	45,524	2450.1	− 2628	−177.9	× 17 / 28	−108
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−208

2024 from sb_ca2024_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
8	45,384	2330.7	− 2586	−255.3	× 11 / 28	−100.3
11	45,385	2463.4	− 2628	−164.6	× 17 / 28	−99.9
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−200

2025 from sb_ca2025_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
11	45,151	2397.8	− 2628	−230.2	× 12 / 12	−230.2
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−230

2026 from sb_ca2026_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
7	45,039	2405.2	− 2567	−161.8	× 12 / 12	−161.8
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−162

Step 2 · The average and the normal range

Average: add the yearly results and divide by how many there are. −182, −160, −186, −201, −177, −204, −232, −208, −200, −230, −162 → −194.7
Typical year-to-year change: how far the result moved from each year to the next, ignoring up or down. 2015→2016: 22 · 2016→2017: 26 · 2017→2018: 15 · 2018→2019: 24 · 2019→2021: 27 · 2021→2022: 28 · 2022→2023: 24 · 2023→2024: 8 · 2024→2025: 30 · 2025→2026: 68 → average 27.2
Normal range: multiply the typical change by 2.66, then add it to the average and subtract it. 27.2 × 2.66 = 72.4. Upper limit −122.3, lower limit −267.1.

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.