Hamilton County Schools Credit Outside Support for 5-Year Gains

By Kelli Gauthier, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Jul. 27–While most Hamilton County schools made moderate or substantial gains in math test scores over five years, the scores at three schools enrolling nearly 40 percent of the district’s high school students dropped significantly.

Soddy-Daisy, Ooltewah and Hixson, three of the largest high schools in the county, had decreases of 13, 12 and 7 percent, respectively, from 2002 to 2007 in Gateway math exam scores, Tennessee Department of Education data shows.

In all, math scores improved at 63 of the district’s 78 schools over the five-year period, fell at 12 schools and stayed the same at three, according to a Times Free Press review of state test data.

In reading, 57 schools showed improvement, scores fell at 13 schools and scores remained the same at eight.

Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Jim Scales said preliminary data from the state on 2008 standardized test results shows math score gains in high schools.

Dr. Scales attributes student achievement gains — in math and reading — to increased support from the business community, professional development in schools and financial support from various foundations and grants.

“It’s not just any one thing,” he said. “It makes me personally feel real good, and I would think our principals and our teachers feel good about it. The general community should feel good, because we’re making systematic changes.”

Public school students took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program exams last spring. The tests cover five subject areas: math, reading/language, science, social studies and writing.

Results from the 2008 battery of tests will not be released to the public until November when education officials release the 2008 State Report Card.

Principals and teachers, however, aren’t waiting for the official Report Card release to finetune their curriculum for the new school year, which starts Aug. 12. Many already are meeting in teams to hash out lesson plans and develop yearlong classroom projects.

EXTRA HELP IN MATH

Hamilton County Board of Education member Rhonda Thurman, who represents Soddy-Daisy’s district, said the math curriculum the school system adopted in 1999 has made that subject more confusing for students and parents.

Students arrive at high schools without “the basics they need at the lower levels,” said Ms. Thurman, a vocal critic of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. The school board spent about $1.8 million on the Everyday Math curriculum, which was denounced by some inside the school system and in the parent community as ineffective.

“I think they’re showing up at high school without a good foundation,” she said. “They had a real good math curriculum before and they changed it.”

Repeated attempts to reach Soddy-Daisy principal John Maynard, Ooltewah principal Ed Foster and Hixson principal Christine Couch were unsuccessful.

Jamason Parris, the school system’s new director of secondary math and science, said a grant paid for math coaches in high schools last year. He said the upcoming test data from the state will show improvements.

“Preliminary data from the state indicates reversing that downward trend” in some schools, Mr. Parris said.

In August, a new middle school math grant will go into effect, which administrators hope will increase the readiness of Algebra I students once they get to high school, he said.

Overall, the good news far outweighs the bad, administrators say.

In math scores, East Ridge High School boasts the largest increase, with a 38 percent gain since 2002. Eighty-one percent of students at East Ridge now score proficient or advanced on state standardized tests, compared with only 41 percent five years ago.

Figuring out early in the school year which students need extra math help and tailoring programs specifically to fit their needs, has been the biggest reason for the school’s math success, said principal Mark Bean.

Other schools that showed large improvement in math scores from 2002 to 2007 are Orchard Knob Middle, Woodmore Elementary, Brainerd High, Howard School of Academics and Technology and Tyner Academy.

BIG GAINS IN READING

In reading, 57 schools raised their test scores at least 1 percent over the past five years, and eight schools maintained their same scores. Reading scores in 13 schools, including Lookout Valley Middle/High, Lookout Valley Elementary, Hixson Elementary, and Hixson and Ooltewah high schools, decreased between 1 and 5 percent.

Hardy Elementary School students posted the largest improvement in reading with a 27 percent gain. Hardy students, who returned to the classroom on Friday as part of their year-round program, also made large gains in math, where 80 percent of students scored proficient in 2007, compared with 51 percent in 2002.

Hardy is one of 16 low-income elementary schools in Hamilton County that receive extra funding for academic enrichment programs from the Benwood Foundation and the Public Education Foundation as part of the Benwood Initiative.

Principal Natalie Elder credits a mandatory two-hour reading and language class as the number one reason for the school’s improvement.

“No one is allowed to go in during that time and interrupt students,” she said. “Having that opportunity to be in the classroom for two hours really made an impact.”

Although the school made a 29 percent gain in math scores since 2002, they dropped from 82 percent proficient and advanced in 2006, to 80 percent in 2007. To reverse the trend of poor student performance in certain tested areas, Ms. Elder said this year students in all grades will spend 20 days focusing on those specific math skills.

“We’re seeing trends throughout the entire building. From second grade up, our kids have problems with measurements and problem solving,” she said. “They’re doing very well in computation because that had been a focus.”

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