LITTLE ROCK — More Arkansas pupils scored at grade level or better on the Arkansas Benchmark Exam in math and literacy in April than in past years, with at least 75 percent of students scoring at proficient or better on eight of 12 tests.
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But pupils in middle school grades, as a rule, didn’t score quite as high as their elementary school peers — and some grades showed a dip.
On the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, a nationally standardized test given in kindergarten through ninth grades in April, Arkansas students on average scored at or above the national average in reading and math at all tested grades except fourth and fifth grades in reading.
The Arkansas Department of Education released the results of both tests Tuesday.
The Arkansas Benchmark Exam is used to evaluate and, if necessary, penalize schools. If schools don’t meet state minimum achievement scores on the Benchmark test for two or more years, the state places them on its improvement list. The schools must tutor students, allow them to transfer and, over time, hire school improvement specialists or school improvement consultants.
Schools also use the results of state Benchmark and End-of-Course exams to develop individual students’ academic improvement plans for those who score below proficient levels. The results from the End-of-Course exams in Algebra I, geometry and literacy will be released later this summer.
On Tuesday, state education leaders attributed continued improvements on the Benchmark exam to the practice of using student data to drive decisions about instruction at schools and teacher training programs.
“Is [it] progress? Yes,” Arkansas’ Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said in a prepared statement about the test results. “Is that victory? Don’t think so. We will continue to support Arkansas educators and best practices to multiply the gains we applaud today.”
The latest state exam results come as Arkansas and other states move closer to the target 2013-14 school year in which the federal No Child Left Behind Act calls for all students to be proficient in math and literacy as measured by state tests.
The results also come at a time when Arkansas educators are starting the transition from Arkansas education standards — on which the Benchmark exams are based — to the “national common core standards” and a whole new testing system by 2014-15. The common-core standards will be used this coming school year in kindergarten through second grades.
Laura Bednar, the state Department of Education’s assistant commissioner for learning services, said Arkansas’ “mature” testing program has the state “positioned very well for the next generation” of education standards and testing. Bednar commended the state’s teachers for incorporating their professional development training into classroom practices to improve achievement on the current tests.
Third-grade math pupils did the best on the Benchmark Exam in the spring with 85 percent of 36,000 test-takers scoring at proficient or advanced levels. A proficient score is considered mastery of a student’s grade-level material.
Eighty-two percent of 36,263 test-takers scored at grade level or better on the fourth-grade literacy test, up 11 points from 71 percent the year before.
Eighth-grade math proved to be the most difficult exam, with only 63 percent of test takers showing satisfactory knowledge of grade-level material. That percentage was the same as in 2010.
Performance dipped slightly — 1 percentage point each — in sixth-grade literacy, seventh-grade math and seventh grade literacy.
The lowest scores were on the science Benchmark Exams, which are newer tests given in fifth and seventh grades. Fifty-six percent of fifth-graders scored at proficient or better in science — up from 50 percent last year. Thirty-nine percent of seventh grade science test takers scored at proficient or better, up from 33 percent in each of the past two years.
BACKPACKS AND FOOTBALLS
In the academically struggling Hughes School District in east Arkansas, the improved results this past spring translated into new bicycles for 39 pupils who scored at advanced levels on the Benchmark test, said Julie Coveny, the district’s federal programs coordinator.
Other rewards — backpacks, T-shirts and footballs — were distributed to 49 other pupils who scored at proficient levels. The rewards were funded by contributions from area businesses and individuals after the district’s new superintendent, Jimmy Wilkins, promised 122 students tangible rewards for their work.
“We were very pleased with our test results in grades three through six,” Coveny said, adding that the End-of-Course results are expected to be significantly improved as well.
Seventy-five percent of the district’s third graders were proficient in math this year. But only 23 percent of eighth graders did the same.
She said the district at some grade levels is approaching state minimum achievement requirements, which is known as “adequate yearly progress.”
That’s a feat for a 424-student district that has been on the state’s school improvement list for many years.
Hughes has had a state-appointed improvement director — the only one in the state — for the past two years because of chronically low Benchmark and End-of-Course test results.
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve seen some dramatic improvements, and we’ve been able to maintain them. We’re not on a roller coaster anymore,” Coveny said.
Coveny attributed the gains to three initiatives: state improvement director Karen Sullards, teachers and principals working together in teams on curriculum and teaching strategies; teacher training programs; and guidance from the America’s Choice school improvement consulting company.
SUCCESS WHILE GROWING
In the Bryant School District, enrollment 7,949, the percentages of students scoring at proficient and advanced in math ranged from 74 percent at the eighth grade to as high as 93 percent in fourth grade.
“We’re thrilled,” Assistant Superintendent Deborah Bruick said about the district’s success in pushing high results even higher.
Bruick attributed the gains to strong principals and welltrained teachers who use the systems the district has in place to identify struggling students and match them with programs or other resources they may need to help them succeed. The improvements have occurred even as the enrollment in the Bryant district grows annually and has become poorer. About 35 percent of Bryant’s students received free or reduced-price school meals, an indication of family poverty, as compared with 26 percent five years ago, Bruick said.
UP AND DOWN
In the Little Rock School District, the state’s largest with nearly 26,000 students, the percentages of students at proficient and advanced levels remained below state averages. The Little Rock results ranged from 42 percent proficient in eighth grade math to 70 percent proficient in third and fourth-grade math.
In literacy, the results ranged from 53 percent proficient or better in seventh grade literacy to 72 percent proficient in fourth-grade literacy.
The largest gain was 7 percentage points to 69 percent proficient in fifth grade literacy. Results dropped by 1 percentage point each in third, sixth and eighth grade math, and sixth and eighth grade literacy.
One of the challenges schools face statewide is reducing the academic achievement gap among students of different races and ethnicities. The gap can be exacerbated when students do not speak English or are just learning the language.
On the Benchmark math test, 91 percent of white third-graders scored at proficient or advanced compared with 72 percent of black student test-takers and 84 percent of Hispanic test-takers.
The Springdale School District, the state’s second largest with about 19,000 students, test-takers performed best in third-grade math and in fourth-grade literacy. In both subjects, 82 percent of students earned at least a grade-level score on their state exams.
“We’re looking at moving towards the 100 percent,” said Marsha Jones, Springdale associate superintendent. “We are getting more kids more proficient each year. That’s a positive trend.”
Springdale schools face the greatest challenge in reaching 100 percent proficiency with students who are learning English as a second language and with students in special education, Jones said. About half of the students attending Springdale schools are learning English.
“We do not count their scores the first year,” Jones said. “They essentially have a year to get on grade-level with their language.”
Fort Smith School District’s percentages of students scoring proficient or advanced improved in the third, fourth and fifth grades, but remained flat or declined in the seventh and eighth grades, said Kellie Cohen, Fort Smith director of student achievement and accountability.
“If you have students who score below basic,” Cohen said, “they don’t have a fighting chance at the kind of opportunities we want them to have.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 07/20/2011