HIGH TEST SCORES: Area schools among state’s top-performing

THREE RIVERS AREA — Six school districts in the Three Rivers area recently won the Outstanding Educational Performance Award for their top performances on the Benchmark exams and the End-Of-Course exams.

Just on the heels of the recent Smart Accountability Rankings report put out by the Arkansas Department of Education, another report listing the top 20 Arkansas schools that have outstanding educational performance has been released.

Among the Three Rivers schools listed on the OEP Awards to overall schools are:

-Melbourne - Mount Pleasant Elementary

-Cabot - Magness Creek Elementary, Cabot Middle School South and Cabot Middle School North

-Mountain View - Mountain View Middle

-Searcy - Westside Elementary,Southwest Middle, Ahlf Jr. High, Southwest Middle and Searcy High

-Cushman - Cushman High

-Calico Rock - Calico Rock High

“High test scores can be attributed to many variables, but the key isquality instruction taking place in every classroom across our district,” said Tony Thurman, Cabot School District superintendent. “We have teachers that refuse to allow students to not be successful. We also place an emphasis on providing our staff with great leadership in the schools and a support system through our curriculum team and central office staff to provide assistance and guidance as needed.”

Benchmark tests were given to students in grades three through eight in math and literacy in April. The top 20 schools were chosen based on the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced on the tests.

The End-Of-Course exams in algebra, geometry, biology and literacy were given to high school students. Searcy High School and Bentonville High School were the only two schools to rank in the top 20 on all four exams. Searcy also ranked in the top five in the Northeast region on all four exams.

Betsy Bailey, Searcy school and communities coordinator, attributes the rise in Searcy’s test scores to teaching test-taking strategies in every class and not just math and English, as well as rewarding the students.

“Being able to show them they are capable and rewarding them really helps,” Bailey said. “We put a lot of focus on the End-Of-Course Exams. We held a pep rally the day before the test.”

In each class, tests are focused on open response and multiple-choice answers. This provides structure so the students know what to expect on test day, Bailey said.

Calico Rock School District finds breaking down the Arkansas Frameworks aided the teachers and administration in making changes.

“Over the past few years, the Calico Rock faculty and administration have made a concerted effort to analyze the Arkansas Frameworks to ensure that our local curriculum meets the guidelines set forth by the state of Arkansas,” said Mark Green, Calico Rock High School Library Media Specialist. “By dissecting the frameworks, mapping the curriculum and changing teaching styles to reflect current educational trends, we have found success.”

The curriculum maps provided focus for teachers and students, but Green said success was a direct result of hard work by the entire school team.

“Everyone from the superintendent to the paraprofessionals and staff have been involved in this process,” Green said. “Because of our small size, we are able to work closely with our students to better grasp their educational needs. In spite of our small size, we have worked diligently to provide them with a quality educational environment, 21st century technology and a plan for their future.”

Mount Pleasant Elementary School also found the benefits of analyzing test results.

“We feel like we are able to keep our test scores up because we do such an intense analysis of the testing results,” said Carolyn Blevins, principal of Mount Pleasant Elementary. “After we go through the data disaggregation, we can better see where our students need to improve, and we make changes in the instructional strategies for the curriculum accordingly.”

The curriculum changes have been a big part of the improvement in the test scores in Cabot and Calico Rock.

“We make changes to our curriculum every year so that our pacing guides correlate to the state curriculum frameworks,” Thurman said. “Pacing guides are used by our staff to ensure that they are teaching those skills that will be tested on the state exams. This review process is essential in making sure that staff are teaching those concepts in which students will be held accountable.”

In addition to the curriculum changes, Calico Rock also implemented an eight-period day with shortened class periods.

“Although met with some resistance at first, the eight-period day has provided increased time for additional course offerings, smaller classes and remediation time for students,” Green said. “Many faculty members have worked independently to improve their technology literacy and implement more efficient technology-rich teaching strategies into their daily lesson plans.”

Curriculum changes were not a part of Mount Pleasant Elementary’s high test scores.

“We have not really made any curriculum changes,” Blevins said. “Our primary focus is on the Arkansas Frameworks and the Student Learner Expectations for math and literacy. Now we are in the process of doing data analysis and curriculum mapping in science as well.”

Although test scores are important to a school district, Thurman also understands the importance of a well-rounded education, and the Cabot School District not only strives to keep test scores up, it also makes efforts to improve in all areas of education, he said.

“We are very proud of our performance on state exams and will continue to work to improve in every area,” Thurman said. “It is also important to keep in mind that while performing well on exams is essential, we must also ensure that students are provided with much more during the school day such as an appreciation of art and music, components of living a healthy lifestyle and understanding that honesty, friendship, self-discipline and trust are values just as important as doing well on an exam.”

Despite the struggles of a small district, Calico Rock School District faces its challenges head on. Green believes in looking at the challenges realistically.

“Because of freedom of choice and home-school laws, school districts are fighting for their lives,” Green said. “The Calico Rock School District has simply chosen to challenge our students to achieve to the best of their ability and win not only the battle, but the war. We are taking it one step at a time and hoping for the best.” - jbrosius@arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 55 on 11/19/2009

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