• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

9th-Graders Above Average on Test; State's Students Top National Iowa Mark; WASL on Tap

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 18:01 CDT

The state's ninth-grade students have tested above the national average on the Iowa Test of Educational Development, state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson said Tuesday.

School officials aren't spending too much time celebrating, however. Scores haven't changed much in recent years, and teachers are already reaching toward the next bar students have to reach.

Next year, the Iowa test will be replaced by the Washington Assessment of Student Learning the WASL.

And while the Iowa test was merely a measuring tool, high school students graduating in 2008 will have to pass the WASL to earn a diploma.

The WASL is also thought of as a more comprehensive measure of student achievement, with short answer and essay questions, said Kim Schmanke, spokesman for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Iowa test is multiple choice.

Students have taken the Iowa test every year since 2000, said Schmanke. The annual test measures basic skills in reading, English language use and mathematics.

The standardized test was developed in Iowa and is used in some, but not all, schools across the country.

It was required by the state Legislature to measure school and student performance, but a bill signed into law this year eliminated the requirement that all third-, sixth- and ninth-graders take the Iowa tests. Results for third- and sixth-graders were released in June.

For this year's Iowa test, overall scores for the ninth-grade students rose, as did scores for each ethnic group, but Bergeson said a measurable performance gap remains between white and Asian- American students and their American Indian, black and Hispanic peers.

"This is a focus of our office and the focus of schools: How do we hone in on the particular needs of groups who aren't performing as well as other students?" Schmanke said.

The scores are reported in percentile ranks. Scoring in the 58th percentile as state students did overall means their performances matched or exceeded those of 58 percent of students nationally. The 50th percentile is the national average. Last year, overall scores for students were at the 57th percentile.

Overall, the ninth-graders were in the 54th percentile for reading, ranging from a low at the 29th percentile for Hispanics and a high of the 60th percentile for whites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To know more

Information about how Washington students have performed on the Iowa Tests of Basic Learning is available on the Web site of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction at http://reportcard .ospi.k12.wa.us. Click on the "state results" button to the right, then the "ITBS/ITED" button at the top of the page.

Iowa Tests of Educational Development

Results for ninth-graders for 2005, 2004 and 2003, listed by school district and expressed as percentile rankings against a national norm.

Reading Math Language arts Core

2005 2004 2003 2005 2004 2003 2005 2004 2003 2005 2004 2003

Battle Ground district average 57 55 58 63 62 65 55 56 56 60 59 61

Battle Ground High School 51 51 54 58 60 61 49 52 54 54 56 58

Prairie High School 59 54 59 67 62 68 59 55 56 64 59 62

Summit View High School 48 51 45 46 49 51 44 50 44 46 50 47

CAM Jr-Sr. High School 86 78 80 90 76 80 85 75 77 89 77 81

Homelink River 65 62 53 65 65 53 58 61 50 65 64 53

Homelink Schools 58 NA NA 59 NA NA 56 NA NA 59 NA NA

Camas

Camas High School 69 60 63 71 70 66 64 57 60 70 64 65

Evergreen district average 51 48 52 60 58 60 51 48 52 55 53 56

Evergreen High School 50 45 51 60 56 57 52 45 51 55 49 54

Heritage High School 46 43 46 58 54 58 47 45 48 52 49 52

Mountain View High School 55 55 59 63 65 65 55 55 58 59 60 63

Evergreen Internet Academy 43 NA NA 48 NA NA 49 NA NA 47 NA NA

Legacy High School 47 37 50 41 38 53 36 32 43 40 34 49

Hockinson

Hockinson High School 68 72 NA 72 71 NA 64 66 NA 69 71 NA

La Center

La Center High School 56 63 55 64 65 60 59 63 52 62 66 57

Ridgefield

Ridgefield High School 60 51 59 69 61 70 61 52 55 66 55 63

Stevenson-Carson

Stevenson High School 55 50 54 56 56 58 49 48 49 53 53 55

Vancouver district average 56 56 55 61 60 59 55 55 54 59 58 58

Columbia River High School 71 67 65 75 69 66 67 63 61 73 69 67

Fort Vancouver High School 40 40 37 51 49 48 44 43 41 46 45 42

Hudson's Bay High School 49 53 50 53 58 52 45 51 49 49 55 52

Skyview High School 60 61 62 66 64 66 59 60 63 64 63 66

Vanc. School of Arts/Academics 87 85 85 78 69 75 81 78 79 83 79 81

Lewis and Clark High School 45 30 39 41 36 36 39 31 30 41 31 33

Washougal district average 51 50 52 59 56 55 51 50 49 55 53 54

Washougal High School 53 53 53 60 57 56 52 51 50 56 55 55

Excelsior High School 26 NA 39 NA NA 40 31 NA 38 NA NA 38

Woodland

Woodland High School 45 47 46 59 57 47 45 48 47 50 51 47

State Average 54 53 53 61 59 59 55 54 54 58 57 57

Source: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Web site

Source: Columbian

More News in this Category