McComb High School dramatically turned around its algebra scores to near state average levels, and other subjects were on the rise as well after 2006-07 achievement testing.
High school Subject Area Test scores are the district’s brightest point with the passing rate increasing in all four subjects tested — Algebra I, English II, U.S. history and Biology I. Average test scores also rose in every subject except English II, which dropped by a point.
Without a doubt, though, algebra was the big success story at the high school. Passing scores in the subject jumped from 66 percent in 2005-06 to 87 percent in 2006-07, which is 4 percent shy of the state average.
Excluding U.S. history, McComb’s average test scores in all subjects on both the Mississippi Curriculum Test and the Subject Area Test were below the state average.
Test scores affect the schools ratings, which are based on a 1-to-5 scale and will be released Sept. 6. All McComb schools received a Level 3 last year.
Interim superintendent Therese Palmertree said she suspected the high school would retain its Level 3 status but declined to comment about other schools.
Palmertree said that after last year’s 66 percent passing rate in algebra, school administrators re-evaluated the approach to teaching the subject. At the beginning and then end of each nine weeks, all schools — especially the high school — emphasized assessments closely aligned with the state requirements. The assessments allow school staff to gauge the understanding of students prior to the achievement tests.
Algebra teacher Cynthia Jackson said they did a better job in 2006-07 addressing students’ weak areas and providing more one-on-one instruction. She also noted that education is a learning process for teachers as they refine and adjust their techniques.
Plus, Palmertree said all algebra teachers met during their professional development time to devise similar lesson plans and components for the nine-week assessments.
All teachers whose classes are gauged by the Subject Area Test, not just algebra, were required to work with their struggling students after school. In the past, students who needed help were tutored by random available teachers. But Palmertree said the rigors of classes such as algebra are so technical that struggling students need to be tutored by their own teachers. She said this created more teacher responsibility.
“It really worked in algebra,” said Palmertree, who has been the district’s interim superintendent since the spring.
Jackson, who has been teaching algebra for 10 years, said she supports the change in tutoring, noting that it was Principal LeVander German’s idea.
“For one thing, I believe the students are more comfortable with their teacher,” Jackson said.
She said the high school can maintain high algebra scores by continuing its strategy of tutoring and regular assessments and having a clear idea where incoming freshmen stand in math.
The school district’s goal is not just to have every child passing, but to have more students achieving proficient and above, Palmertree said.
She noted that although just 45 percent of McComb students scored proficient and above in algebra in 2006-07, scores were up from 28 percent the year before.
“We really focused on algebra, both passing and proficient,” Palmertree said.
Slightly more McComb students also passed U.S. history, Biology I and English II than the year before.
English scores were the high school’s lowest, although McComb had just a one-point drop in average test scores in 2006-07 and its passing rate rose from 68 percent to 73 percent. Palmertree said mediocre scores in English is a statewide trend because the test is known to be the most rigorous of the four subjects tested.
She said more emphasis will be placed on ninth-graders taking English I so they will be more prepared for English II.
She also noted that all but two students passed the English II writing segment.
The next step for McComb schools will be catching up to the state average in biology and English scores, Palmertree said. McComb’s average biology scores are about 12 points lower than the state average, and English scores are about six points lower than the state average.
McComb’s biology and English passing rates are almost on par with the state.
Palmertree also noted that ACT college entrance exam scores were the highest in five years. She credited that rise to a better balance of Subject Area Test and ACT preparation.
