SF school district gives up Stanford 9 battle

The settlement signed Thursday makes the district eligible for at least $640,000 the state withheld last year. Struggling schools that show academic progress also will be eligible for rewards of up to $150 per pupil and $1,600 per staff member.

In turn, the State Board of Education agreed to relax some rules for schools across California — changes San Francisco officials claimed as a major victory, and state officials described as common sense.

"It is a reasonable compromise that puts a lot of control in parents' hands and gives us the possibility to work with Sacramento," schoolboard president Mary Hernandez said. "We were very careful and thoughtful about it."

The compromise also will likely mean lower test scores in San Francisco, at a time when the state is requiring more accountability.

The Stanford Achievement Test Edition 9 is the only statewide mandatory exam given to schoolchildren in grades 2 through 11. It covers reading, writing, math, and in the higher levels, history, science and social science as well.

It was given last spring to 4.4 million public school students in second through 11th grades, the second year California students took the test.

It's a high-stakes exercise for schools as well as students, since the state uses the results to reward successful schools and identify low-performing ones.

The San Francisco district, which was joined by Oakland, Berkeley, and Hayward in the lawsuit, argued that limited-English students' scores do not reflect their real math or learning skills, and that low results affect their self-esteem.

The state countered that testing is the only way to make sure schools are doing their job, and that even struggling English students need to be included.

"We agreed to add more things and in return the schools will respect the statute," said Rae Belisle, legal counsel for the state Board of Education.