Test scores for nearly all grade levels in the Iola school district lag behind the state, but the district’s curriculum director says those numbers don’t tell the full story.
If you dig into individual student scores, you’ll see year-to-year improvement, Jenna Higginbotham, the curriculum director, told USD 257 board members this week.
Last year’s third grade class appeared to struggle the most according to test results, but those students were piloting a new English language arts program and had a new team of teachers, she said. The district has since adopted the curriculum and Higginbotham wants to see how scores will change in the next couple of years.
“There’s a learning curve,” she said. “They say it takes about three years to see a true impact, so we may not see it next year but I’m hoping we will after that.”
The scores show all grade levels in English, math and science were below the average state scores with a few exceptions. USD 257’s fourth-graders were equal to the state in math. Eighth-graders were equal in science, and high school juniors exceeded science, and high school juniors exceeded the state science scores by 2 points. Only grades 5, 8 and 11 take the science tests.
When comparing last year’s scores to this year, though, Higginbotham found the results were the same.
As a whole, Kansas students’ average scores in math were down compared to last year.
“It seems like we’re all just kind of teetering and wondering what we can do to tip the scales,” Higginbotham said.
Middle school math teachers are taking part in a program through Greenbush that meets each month for training. Higginbotham hopes that will show improvements in test scores.
Encouraging signs
Soon after students take state assessment tests, they take another series of tests through Fastbridge, another assessment program that also measures social-emotional and behavioral benchmarks.
Fastbridge tests students in the fall and spring to track progress. Even preschoolers are tested through that program.
Fastbridge allows Higginbotham to drill down into more specific areas to see which students need more help and in what areas.
She sees encouraging signs, particularly in younger grades that provide a foundation for later learning.
Kindergarten students showed huge improvement, she said, with 82% meeting their reading targets by the end of the year. The goal is for 80% of students to meet grade-level targets.
