Thursday, June 17, 1999
4th-graders test better overall
CPS records improvement
BY BERNIE MIXON and CHRISTINE WOLFF
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ohio's elementary school students are showing improvement on proficiency tests, with more fourth-graders passing the reading test that soon will be tied to fifth-grade promotion.
Sixty percent of Ohio's fourth-graders passed reading — up from 48 percent in 1998, according to scores released Wednesday for the spring taking of the required test. Fourth-graders also improved in the test's four other sections while sixth-graders showed improvement in math and citizenship.
Cincinnati Public Schools' fourth-grade scores rose in all sections, while sixth-graders improved in math and citizenship but fell in writing, reading and science. The scores put CPS fourth-graders seventh among Ohio's eight urban school districts, and sixth-graders fourth, in passing all sections.
Proficiency tests, covering writing, reading, math, citizenship and science, are required in Ohio public schools in grades four, six, nine and 12. Students must pass the Ohio Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test to graduate, and starting in 2001-'02, fourth-graders must pass a reading proficiency test to be considered for promotion to fifth grade.
This was the hardest year yet for the fourth-grade test, which began in 1995. In what state officials say is the last change, the passing score was raised this year in reading, math, citizenship and science. The fourth-grade passing score also was raised in 1997.
Of the 129,200 fourth-graders tested statewide, 65 percent passed writing, up from 59 percent in '98; 51 percent passed math, up from 42 percent; 71 percent passed citizenship, up from 57 percent; and 53 percent passed science, up from 49 percent.
Sixth-graders' scores dropped in writing, from 89 percent in '98 to 80 percent this year; and in science, from 50 percent last year to 47 percent this year. Sixth-graders improved in math, with 52 percent passing, up from 47 percent in '98, and in citizenship, with 72 percent, up from 66 percent, passing this year.
Sixth-grade reading scores stayed the same, with 53 percent passing.
“We are always expecting the students to do their best, and we like to see an increase,” said Paula Mahaley, a consultant at the Ohio Department of Education who oversees the fourth- and sixth-grade test.
Cincinnati Public Schools leaders credited new reforms with lifting proficiency scores, which remain far behind most of their suburban peers.
This year's fourth grade is the first class to take proficien cy tests that has been enrolled since kindergarten under new academic standards CPS implemented in 1994, Associate Superintendent Kathleen Ware said. The rise in test scores shows the new standards are working, she added.
“We have a lot of work left to do. We are not at a resting point,” Ms. Ware said. “But we have seen a turnaround.”
In some suburban districts, such as Forest Hills and Sycamore, fourth-graders performed well enough to move districts into the top category on the state report cards. The report cards track such things as test scores and graduation rates.
Fourth-graders in the Sycamore Community School District raised their scores from last year in writing, reading and math — moving Sycamore into the top report card shelf labeled “effective.”
“We felt really good, knowing the bar is at its peak,” said Bill Sears, Sycamore's assistant superintendent, referring to annual changes in what state officials considered proficient on the test. “With no period with the exact same bar, you couldn't really compare the kids year to year and see how they really were doing.”
In Mount Healthy, where the fourth-grade reading scores improved nine percentage points, educators credit intervention, reduced class sizes and integrating reading across core courses.
“The scores are still low. We are certainly not happy with them but we are moving in the right direction,” said Lori Handler, director of elementary education for the Mount Healthy School district.
In Butler County, Fairfield City School officials saw a big improvement in math scores from a year ago. Bonnie Fitzharris, the district's curriculum supervisor, attributes that in part to the district's increased focus on math. Teachers used a new math curriculum the past school year.
“The increase in some schools' test scores is phenomenal,” Ms. Fitzharris said Wednesday, noting that 71 percent of West Elementary School fourth-graders passed the math section.
“At West Elementary School we saw a 20-point increase. We're not where we want to be yet but we're getting close. The state's goal is 75 percent.”
At Kings in Warren County, fourth-grade students improved because the district's course of study correlates with the state model, officials said. With Wednesday's scores, the district also will move into the “effective” category.
“We have a structure in place that enables each classroom teacher to provide meaningful intervention,” said Assistant Superintendent Dick Bell.
Enquirer reporters Dana DiFilippo, Miriam Smith, and Sue Kiesewetter contributed.
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