Thursday, August 19, 1999
Schools told math, science need work
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
MIDDLETOWN — Middletown/Monroe schools should shift more attention this school year to math and science, a consultant says.
Students had low scores in those subject areas on all levels of the state's proficiency tests, Mace A. Ishida, head of Ishida & Associates, told the school board last week in his eighth annual instructional audit.
But there were pockets of success that could be built upon and programs to be shared among buildings.
“On the fourth-grade level you may be proud of the increases in every subject level when compared with last year and using (the year) 2000 standards,” Mr. Ishida said. “However, although increased, we did not meet any of the performance standards on the fourth-grade proficiency test.”
Emphasis also should be placed on reading, Mr. Ishida said, noting those scores were low on the fourth- and sixth-
grade proficiency tests.
“Increasing math and science achievement at all grade levels and increasing reading achievement at the elementary level should be a priority goal
of the Middletown/Monroe City School District's Continuous Improvement Plan for the next three to five years,” Mr. Ishida said.
Of the 54 recommendations Mr. Ishida made following his review of the 1997-98 school year, 49 were addressed during the 1998-99 school year, indicating they are taken seriously by building leadership teams.
Major districtwide recommendations from the 1998-99 audit to be worked on during the 1999-2000 school year are:
• Determine whether additional time for reading, math and science instruction is needed at the elementary level.
“Taken together, clearly, math and science scores are consistently low beginning with the Fourth Grade Proficiency Test and continuing through the 12th Grade Proficiency Test,” Mr. Ishida said.
• Share third-grade model math and science lessons developed by the Gifted and Talented Education Team (GATE) with teachers throughout the district.
• Establish goals for increasing student attendance and decreasing the dropout rate. The district did not meet standards set in 1997 by the Ohio General Assembly, according to the 1998 state report card.
• Share successful, so-called “best practice” instructional methods or programs, such as the Literature Circles, Marcy Cook's Math Activities, team teaching with interventionists and others.
• Continue to involve community representatives in the annual audit. “They see things a little differently than we as educators do,” Mr. Ishida said. “And I think they have a lot of good things to say.”
• The GATE program should receive its own instructional audit next year.
“As a district, we're not where we want to be” in terms of proficiency test scores, Superintendent Wayne Driscoll said. “We had some significant growth at the fourth grade. The state expects 2.5 percentage points growth. In some cases we had 19 points.”
In developing each school's continuous development plan, as mandated by the state, school board Vice President Dr. Mark Frazer said the emphasis has to be student achievement.
“The other warm-fuzzy stuff is important but kind of hollow if there's no achievement,” Dr. Frazer said.
In his 96-page report, Mr. Ishida addresses student achievement and makes recommendations for each school in the district. Strengths and weaknesses at each building, along with reviewer's comments, are included.
Copies of the report are available at central administrative offices, 1515 Girard St., and at each school.
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