Friday, September 17, 1999
N. Ky. pupils among best-scoring
Overall, few meet state goal
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Northern Kentucky students posted some of the highest scores in the state on Kentucky's test of aptitude in reading, writing, math and science.
The Department of Education released regional and state scores Thursday on the state's new assessment exam. School-level scores will be released at the end of the month.
These scores are based on a scale of 0 to 140, with the state standard being 100. Last spring's test — called the Kentucky Core Content test — was a new exam under a new system. That means the 1999 scores cannot be compared to previous scores on the Ken tucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS) tests.
“The linkage between the old and new tests is not close enough to make comparisons,” said Scott Trimble, Kentucky's testing guru. Instead, schools and parents should compare the results to the state standard of 100, or a “proficient” performance rating, Mr. Trimble said. None of the eight regional service areas met that goal in this round of testing.
Students in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 were tested in April in seven subjects, though not every grade was tested in every content area. Those sub jects are reading, math, science, writing, social studies, vocational and practical skills and arts and humanities.
Results released Thursday are broken down by region. Northern Kentucky is in region four, which includes Boone, Bullitt, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Henry, Kenton, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties.
Region 4 results show:
• The highest elementary reading score at 76.4.
• The highest elementary math score at 69.4.
• The top middle school science (38.4) and writing (42.6) scores.
• The best high school scores in reading (70.6); math (72.5); science (68.8) social studies (71.4); and arts and humanities (41.1).
• Less than 1 percent of middle school students scored at or above the state standard for science.
• Just under 10 percent of
middle schoolers are meeting standards in writing.
• Only 4.69 percent of elementary students and 4.40 percent of high schoolers are at or above standards in arts and humanities.
School districts already received detailed score reports for their buildings and individual students. State education officials said schools can use the data to improve teaching methods.
“We are able to look at certain questions that students missed and see how a teacher can start teaching to help students understand that concept,” Silver Grove Superintendent Bill Brown said. “Critics will say we are teaching to the test, but our feeling is if it's worthwhile knowledge, the kids need to know they should learn it anyway.”
Scores from last spring's test will be combined with this year's scores to determine whether a school receives financial rewards.
These two years of data — scores from 1999 and those from 2000 — will become the baseline for future performance goals through 2014.
In December, schools will receive an analysis of how well they are doing compared to all districts in the state. This will help schools determine how they'll need to perform on this spring's exams to get those rewards.
Until then, districts like Ludlow Schools will work on improvements.
“We still want to work on the middle school level,” Superintendent Elizabeth Grause said. “It's always an area you're going to hear about.”
State officials said they are worried about middle school performance in science, practical living and writ ing. Fifty percent of seventh graders scored at the novice level in writing.
Boone County Schools plan to dissect their test data down to the teacher level, to figure out the best practices for teaching different kinds of learners.
Looking at the scores of students in a particular teacher's classroom can offer clues. For example, some students might learn better with hands-on exercises, while others might do best with a more traditional lecture format.
“One of the things we get trapped into is using this for comparing one school to another or to the state,” Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said. “What we need to look at is individual school performance. That's what we are concerned about.”
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