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Articles
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| Schools make moderate gains in reading, math |
VOICE writes, "Schools make moderate gains in reading, math
BY VICTORIA SOLOMON
D.C. students earned slightly higher scores this year on the city's standardized test compared with 2006 — the first time students took the new assessment — but only about a third of all students met proficiency benchmarks.
The D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System, which is more strenuous than the old standardized test, assesses reading and mathematic abilities at both traditional public schools and public charter schools. Students are scored as below basic, basic, proficient or advanced. A certain percentage of students must meet the D.C.-established proficiency target to earn a school “adequate yearly progress” under the federal No Child Left Behind act."
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Elementary students in D.C. Public Schools scored higher in reading and math on the test this year, with 37.54 percent achieving the proficiency target in reading compared with last year's 36.56 percent. In math, 29.39 percent of students achieved proficiency compared with 26.19 percent last year.
Secondary student scores for D.C. Public Schools from last year also increased in both categories, though very marginally in reading. Scores at half of 10 secondary schools in Northwest fell in reading.
In reading, 29.83 percent of students earned a proficient or advanced score this year, compared with 29.38 last year. In math, 27.11 percent of students met the mark compared with 23.35 percent last year.
The highest-performing general public high school was Wilson, where 57 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in reading, and 51 percent scored at those levels in math.
Banneker Academic High School and School Without Walls — both of which operate as magnet programs — had scores exceeding 85 percent in both reading and math. Banneker saw modest jumps in reading and math, while Walls reported a slight drop in reading but a 10-point increase in math.
Math scores for Capitol Hill’s Eastern High School weren’t reported, but its reading score jumped from 6.76 percent last year to 11.5 percent this year.
Charter schools overseen by the Public Charter School Board performed better than traditional public schools, with 43 percent of elementary students in charters meeting the proficiency level in reading, and 38 percent meeting it in math. In reading at the secondary level, 48 percent of charter students met the benchmark in both reading and math.
The Washington Latin public charter school, a new school that took the test for the first time, made adequate yearly progress, with 77 percent of students meeting the benchmark in reading and 73 percent meeting it in math. At City Collegiate, 69 percent met the reading threshold and 77 percent met the math standard.
Half of Ward 6’s elementary schools made the adequate yearly progress goal of 40.27 percent of students passing the reading test.
Ludlow-Taylor did the best, 61.82 percent, with Brent following a close second with 60.98 percent and Tyler in third with 57.55 percent. The J.O. Wilson and Maury schools’ scores were neck and neck, 53.73 and 53.33 percent, respectively.
However, most elementaries didn’t achieve passing scores in math, with J.O. Wilson achieving a passing grade of 54.48 percent.
As for the local junior high schools, Stuart-Hobson passed muster in both categories, 61.76 percent in reading and 44.44 percent in math. Score targets for secondary schools are 40.54 percent in reading and 53.58 percent in math.
Four of the ward’s charter schools made significant improvements. The KIPP Key Academy on Eighth Street, SE, scored 83.83 percent in math, compared to 76.47 percent last year. Washington Math & Science, which shares a building with KIPP, scored 60 percent in math and 58.18 percent in reading, a stark contrast to last year’s 27.93 and 42.34 percent scores.
The Center on Education Policy, a D.C.-based education think tank, found that many schools cut subjects other than language arts and math during the school day to spend more time on those core courses.
In a July 24 report, the center found that nationwide, 44 percent of school districts cut time spent on science, social studies, art, music, physical education or recess in order to spend more time teaching language arts and math.
Whether or not D.C. schools are putting more time into language arts and math, the system as a whole did not make adequate yearly progress. When comparing data from a nationwide test known as the National Assessment of Education Progress, D.C. students fall far below national averages.
According to 2005 results from the test, and comparing 11 urban districts across the country, the U.S. Department of Education reported that D.C. schoolchildren performed poorer than their counterparts elsewhere.
D.C. schools had the lowest reading and math scores in fourth grade and the lowest reading scores in eighth grade among the 11 urban districts, as well as the second-to-lowest math scores in the eighth grade.
Below is a sampling of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) test results from the 2007 school year for Ward 6 schools. A minimum of 96 percent of the students from targeted grades were tested.
In order to meet standards under the No Child Left Behind act, elementary schools are required to meet targets in math (47.37%) and reading (40.27%) and secondary schools must reach targets in math (43.58%) and reading (40.54%).
School 2006 average percentage 2007 average percentage
Reading Math Reading Math
Amidon ES 40 28.39 36.36 21.97
Bowen ES 38.52 27.05 36.27 24.51
Brent ES 55.08 36.44 60.98 34.15
Gibbs ES 14.56 5.7 19.69 11.81
Ludlow-Taylor ES 36.43 29.46 61.82 43.64
Maury ES 48.25 21.05 53.33 30
Miner ES 29.63 18.11 29.39 21.63
Payne ES 26.15 16.15 37.27 25.45
Prospect LC 10.75 6.45 0 0.87
Tyler ES 37.01 23.62 57.55 44.34
Walker-Jones ES 19.6 13.29 15.79 10.53
Watkins ES 48.15 32.8 50.74 41.38
Wilson ES 48.37 30.72 53.73 54.48
Eliot JHS 15.23 20.3 20.69 22.41
Hine JHS 17.13 16.85 20.83 18.33
Jefferson JHS 49.54 40.05 36.43 42.21
Stuart-Hobson MS 62.47 41.55 61.76 44.44
Eastern SHS 6.76 — 11.5 —
Two Rivers PCS 25.58 23.26 38.10 26.98
Cesar Chavez PCS 40.68 27.97 47.46 38.98
Friendship PCS 20.5 12 27.7 20.19
KIPP Key
Academy PCS 65.36 76.47 61.72 83.83
Options PCS 18.22 12 17.05 11.52
SEED PCS 48.39 37.33 54.22 45.33
St. Coletta PCS n/a n/a 74.23 63.92
Washington Math
& Science PCS 42.34 27.93 58.18 60.0
Source: D.C. Department of Public and Charter Schools
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Posted on Sep 08, 2007 14:34pm.
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