BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Public Schools students improved their performance this spring on the Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test, an exam every student must pass to earn a diploma.
Most noticeable were the eighth- through 12th-grade students' elevated performances in mathematics, science and writing. Overall student performances fluctuated in the other two test sections, reading and citizenship.
The results, made public Tuesday evening, left school administrators "extremely encouraged," said Superintendent J. Michael Brandt.
"Improving student achievement is Job No. 1 in Cincinnati Public Schools," Mr. Brandt said. "Teachers, parents, administrators -- and, most of all, students -- can be proud that their hard work is paying off in better performance."
Students can take the proficiency test for the first time in eighth grade. They are given several opportunities throughout their high school years to pass the exam.
The results -- which are estimates provided by the Ohio Department of Education -- show that the passing rates for seniors this spring were equal to the statewide averages in writing, reading and citizenship. Within the district, the senior passing rate in math improved 2 percentage points from last year, but remained slightly below the statewide average.
Some of the biggest leaps in passing rates occurred among eighth- and ninth-graders. In writing, eighth-graders showed a 19 percentage point improvement from 1997 and a 6 percentage point improvement in math. The single biggest improvement occurred with ninth-graders in science, with the elevation of their passing rate by 23 percentage points from the year before. There was also an 11 percentage point improvement for ninth-graders in writing.
"It's clearly on the upswing," said Arthur Hull, president of the Cincinnati Board of Education. "We're reassured and glad to see that. We're going where we want to go -- and that's up."
Kathleen Ware, assistant superintendent, attributed the gains in math and science to an intensive professional development program for district teachers. "Better teacher training is now translating into better student results," she said.
Cincinnati 12th-graders were ranked in the top three of Ohio's eight urban districts in percent passing the citizenship and reading portions of the test, at 99 percent. Mr. Brandt suggested that the gains are proof that a strategic improvement plan, known as Student First, is starting to take root.
