September 2, 2004

Schools rank Effective on state tests in 2004

By Diane Chiddister

Last week the Ohio Department of Education rolled out the results of last year’s state proficiency tests, and all over Ohio school administrators and teachers mulled over their district’s grade card.

Yellow Springs students performed well on the tests, and this week school administrators discussed the difficult balance they hope to achieve, both in helping Yellow Springs children master the facts and figures necessary to excel on the state tests, and in providing to each student a holistic, child-centered learning experience.

“Most schools are satisfied with doing well on the state standards, but we want more,” Superintendent Tony Armocida said. “Our goal is to do well on everything.”

The Yellow Springs school district met 14 out of 18 standards, receiving the ranking of Effective, the second highest of five possible rankings.

The schools also received an Effective ranking in 2002–2003, while the year before, the district garnered the highest ranking, that of Excellent.

Why the difference?

“It’s a head-scratcher. We have the same excellent staff that we had” two years ago, said Armocida, who added that the local schools’ small number of students means that a very few struggling students can have a disproportionate effect on overall test results. Still, he said, the schools take very seriously the responsibility of preparing all students to pass the test, and will examine ways to improve.

“There are some areas we didn’t do as well as we wanted to,” he said. “It is a concern and something we need to work on.”

The schools stack up well compared to other Greene County schools. While Beavercreek schools received an Excellent ranking, Cedar Cliff, Greeneview and Sugarcreek scored Effective. Fairborn and Xenia Schools were rated as Continuous Improvement, the third highest ranking. No Greene County schools received either of the two lowest rankings, Academic Watch and Academic Emergency.

New to last year’s test was the inclusion of third-graders, who were tested only on reading. Mills Lawn third-graders did very well, with all passing the test. Of the 27 students tested, 10 tested at an advanced reading level, 13 at an accelerated level and 4 at a proficient level.

“They’re all proficient readers, which means they were reading at the fourth-grade level,” said Mills Lawn Principal Christine Hatton. “We’re very proud of that.”

Mills Lawn fourth-graders earned passing scores on reading (80.6 percent passed), math (86.1), citizenship (80.6) and science (83.3). To meet state standards, the school must have a 75 percent passing rate. The fourth-graders fell short in writing, with 69.4 percent of students passing the test. Thirty-six students took the test.

Mills Lawn sixth-graders had the most difficulty with the test, passing in the categories of writing (94.1 percent) and citizenship (75), and falling short in reading (69.2), math (71.2) and science (65.4).

Mills Lawn continues to strive for excellent test scores while also offering students a holistic learning experience, Hatton said. “We’re looking into ways and means to increase our capacity so that all of our children become good readers and writers without our teaching to the test,” she said. “We’re pretty unanimous on that.”

The new test results reflect the first year that high school students took the new Ohio graduation test, which students will be required to pass to graduate beginning in 2007.

Last year’s sophomore class took the test only as a practice and only in the areas of reading and math, guidance counselor Dave Smith said. The results were not factored into the district’s overall test score. Smith said the new test includes more writing and is more difficult than the previous proficiency test, which the current junior and senior classes took in ninth grade and in which the school passed all categories.

In the trial graduation test, the 61 students tested also did well, with 84 percent of last year’s sophomores passing the reading portion. Out of that number, 33 percent earned the highest ranking of advanced, 30 percent ranked as accelerated and 21 percent were proficient. Seventeen percent did not pass the reading test. The group also includes special education and learning disabled students, said Smith.

On the math portion of the graduation test, 67 percent of the sophomores passed, of which 22 percent achieved an advanced ranking, 22 percent accelerated and 23 percent were proficient. Thirty-three percent did not pass the math portion.

YSHS teachers and administrators also seek a balance between helping students do well on the state tests and providing a holistic learning experience, Smith said.

“There are varied feelings about the national move to high-stakes testing,” he said. “On the one hand, there should be accountability. But not everyone can show their knowledge in a test format.”

In an effort to identify aspects of a successful learning experience, 17 local administrators, teachers and community members formed the Quality Education Committee, which met last January through June, Armocida said. The group identified “community standards” of education to complement the state standards, he said.

Armocida said the committee identified six areas in which it felt evaluative methods need to be developed: community and parent support, whole life learning, integration of knowledge, respect and responsibility, individual learning and diversity in the classroom.

Armocida will take the committee’s proposal to the school board this month. If the board approves the proposal, he will seek input on ways to evaluate and implement each area.

“If we’re really going to assess the Yellow Springs schools in terms of quality, we need more,” he said. “We felt the federal and state standards don’t give the whole picture.”