Post by title1parent on Oct 6, 2009 4:57:42 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=326749&src=76
District 203 gets high marks on tests
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald 10/06/09
Naperville Unit District 203 once again met nearly 99 percent of federal standards it is responsible for under No Child Left Behind.
As a whole, the district cleared 337 of 341 hurdles with its latest round of standardized test scores. However, its two high schools - Naperville North and Naperville Central - again failed to make "adequate yearly progress" this year.
For high school students, adequate yearly progress is determined by scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which includes the ACT and is taken by juniors. For most elementary and junior high students, it is based on Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores.
In order for a school to make adequate yearly progress, No Child Left Behind requires the percentage of students in each subgroup needing to meet standards rises every year.
For this round of tests, 70 percent of students in each group needed to meet standards in order for the district to be considered making adequate yearly progress.
Overall scores in District 203 for reading and math at the elementary and junior high levels dipped slightly this year, though school officials say they look at larger trends than just year-to-year.
In reading, 93.2 percent of elementary and junior high students met or exceeded standards, down from 93.5 percent last year. In math, 94.8 percent met or exceeded standards, compared to 95.6 the year before.
Dave Chiszar, director of assessment and quality, said it is tougher to meet standards at the high school level.
For 2009, 79 percent of the district's high school students met or exceeded standards in reading compared to 80 percent last year. In math, 78 percent met or exceeded standards, down from 79 percent.
However, Naperville North and Central both failed to make adequate yearly progress, for the third and second years respectively.
At North, only 48 percent of low-income students met standards in reading, while 46 percent did so in math.
At Central, students with disabilities came up short with 32.9 percent meeting reading standards and 29.4 percent meeting math standards.
Because Central did not meet standards for the second year, it will have to create a school improvement plan. North will be implementing a plan it created last year.
Board member Suzyn Price on Monday questioned the downward trend in high school math scores since 2006.
Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent for instruction, said the district has been watching those scores and already has made adjustments in the last few years to address the issue, including an algebra support class, interventions to identify gaps in student learning and a realigned curriculum.
Officials said while they are happy with overall scores, they are just one of many ways of evaluating students and need to be looked at in a larger context.
"These tests are not the be-all and end-all and if we start getting too concerned about one or two percentage points of variation, we could end up putting ourselves in a dangerous position," Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said. "They're a dipstick in time of what our kids are doing."
For the 2010 tests, schools will need 77.5 percent of students in each subgroup meeting standards in order to make adequate yearly progress.
Tests: District already making adjustments to address lower scores
District 203 gets high marks on tests
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald 10/06/09
Naperville Unit District 203 once again met nearly 99 percent of federal standards it is responsible for under No Child Left Behind.
As a whole, the district cleared 337 of 341 hurdles with its latest round of standardized test scores. However, its two high schools - Naperville North and Naperville Central - again failed to make "adequate yearly progress" this year.
For high school students, adequate yearly progress is determined by scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which includes the ACT and is taken by juniors. For most elementary and junior high students, it is based on Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores.
In order for a school to make adequate yearly progress, No Child Left Behind requires the percentage of students in each subgroup needing to meet standards rises every year.
For this round of tests, 70 percent of students in each group needed to meet standards in order for the district to be considered making adequate yearly progress.
Overall scores in District 203 for reading and math at the elementary and junior high levels dipped slightly this year, though school officials say they look at larger trends than just year-to-year.
In reading, 93.2 percent of elementary and junior high students met or exceeded standards, down from 93.5 percent last year. In math, 94.8 percent met or exceeded standards, compared to 95.6 the year before.
Dave Chiszar, director of assessment and quality, said it is tougher to meet standards at the high school level.
For 2009, 79 percent of the district's high school students met or exceeded standards in reading compared to 80 percent last year. In math, 78 percent met or exceeded standards, down from 79 percent.
However, Naperville North and Central both failed to make adequate yearly progress, for the third and second years respectively.
At North, only 48 percent of low-income students met standards in reading, while 46 percent did so in math.
At Central, students with disabilities came up short with 32.9 percent meeting reading standards and 29.4 percent meeting math standards.
Because Central did not meet standards for the second year, it will have to create a school improvement plan. North will be implementing a plan it created last year.
Board member Suzyn Price on Monday questioned the downward trend in high school math scores since 2006.
Tim Wierenga, assistant superintendent for instruction, said the district has been watching those scores and already has made adjustments in the last few years to address the issue, including an algebra support class, interventions to identify gaps in student learning and a realigned curriculum.
Officials said while they are happy with overall scores, they are just one of many ways of evaluating students and need to be looked at in a larger context.
"These tests are not the be-all and end-all and if we start getting too concerned about one or two percentage points of variation, we could end up putting ourselves in a dangerous position," Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said. "They're a dipstick in time of what our kids are doing."
For the 2010 tests, schools will need 77.5 percent of students in each subgroup meeting standards in order to make adequate yearly progress.
Tests: District already making adjustments to address lower scores