The McComb School District’s latest scores on state tests revealed some good news for its younger students, but some poor scores at the high school.
Students in grades 1 through 8 showed marked improvement on school and state levels in a year’s time. However, high school scores showed regression, including a 20 percent drop in students that passed the biology portion of the Subject Area Test. And only 44 percent passed the English portion of the test.
Superintendent Therese Palmertree said the district is “providing extensive professional development in both the multiple choice and writing sections of the English 2 test.
“We believe that we have strong teachers in place, who are very receptive to making sure each child shows growth,” Palmertree said.
Betty Wilson-McSwain, assistant superintendent and secondary curriculum coordinator, said English will be the district’s priority and focus for the 2010-11 school year.
“We know where we are. We’re not comfortable with where we already are. We’re already working to make a difference,” McSwain said. “We’re in growth mode. Not only are we in growth mode, but the entire state still is in growth mode. It is a process. It will take time. But we promise we will continue to move forward.”
McSwain added that the district is taking measures to combat deficiencies, such as encouraging parents to ensure their children participate in after-school tutoring programs and teaching methods that address each student’s needs.
The high school finished slightly above the state average in U.S. history, but well below the state average in algebra.
Thirty-two Denman Junior High School students took the algebra portion, with 97 percent passing.
The district’s overall profile indicates decreases of younger students who scored minimal and basic on the Mississippi Curriculum 2 Test, with increases in proficient and advanced scores.
The test is an indicator of academic proficiency in math and language arts for students in grades 3 to 8.
“We’re building our teaching capacity, focusing more on language arts, grammar, vocabulary. As our students are coming up, we see a difference,” McSwain said. “We’re getting a different student product at Denman, based on what we’re doing at the middle school. In areas where we focused, we did see gains.”
Seventh-graders produced the most drastic improvement, with 52 percent scoring a proficient score in language arts — a 23 percent jump from last year. And only 8 percent scored in the minimal, or lowest, category — down from 26 percent last year.
Sixth-graders improved across the board in language arts, with 12 percent scoring minimal and 32 percent scoring basic. Some 52 percent scored proficient and 4 percent made advanced scores.
In third grade, 33 percent scored minimal in language arts, 43 percent in basic, as compared to 36 percent last year. In the proficient category, 19 percent scored, down from 25 percent last year. Some 4 percent of students placed advanced, about the same as last year.
In the fourth grade language, 27 percent scored at the lowest level, 44 percent scored basic, 22 percent proficient and 8 percent advanced.
In fifth-grade language arts, more students moved from minimal to basic categories, with 23 percent minimal and 42 percent basic. Some 31 percent scored at the proficient level and 4 percent were advanced.
In math, the number of fifth-graders who scored at the bottom level increased from 11 percent in 2008-09 to 20 percent this past year.
The other grade levels showed marked improvement in math, with students in seventh grade. Eleven percent scored advanced, 54 percent were proficient, 20 percent scored basic and 16 percent were at the minimal level.
Third-grade math teachers have their work cut out for them. Some 70 percent of students scored in minimal and basic categories. That’s up from 62 percent in 2008-09.
Students in fourth-grade math scored 38 percent at the minimal level, up from 32 percent last year, and 29 percent scored basic, down from 42 percent last year. Some 29 percent of student scored proficient, up from 22 percent the year before.
In fifth-grade math, 20 percent scored minimal, 27 percent basic, 46 percent at proficient and seven percent advanced.
In grades 6 through 8 students improved in math over the previous year, with 11 percent at minimal in sixth grade and 27 percent in basic. Some 47 percent scored proficient and 15 percent were advanced.
In seventh grade, 16 percent scored at the minimal level and 20 percent basic. For eighth grade, 15 percent scored at the minimal level and 11 percent basic. At the proficient level were 54 percent of students, and 11 percent were advanced.
Superintendent Therese Palmertree said, “We’re peaking at sixth- and seventh- grade. That’s not necessarily the trend of most. The longer our children stay in school, the higher they progress.
“We’re focusing on catch-up growth,” she said. “We’re really seeing that we’re going to have to provide more time and quality instruction at the appropriate level for students. If you look at the accomplishments of students in fifth- through eighth-grade, you see that this focus is working.”
Despite the improvement, only the sixth- and seventh-graders finished at or above the state average for proficient scores in both subjects.
Palmertree also said that a district realignment will impact the district over time. This year, fourth-graders are at Higgins Middle School instead of Kennedy Elementary, and third-graders moved to Otken Elementary.
“The trend in third- and fourth-grade shows that, as the students moved up to third grade at Kennedy and fifth grade at Higgins, there were dips in scores,” Palmertree said. “We feel like (the new configuration) will negate where we had those dips in scores.”
The high school’s subject area testing program results were less positive.
The percentage of students who passed the test’s four subjects — algebra, biology, U.S. history and English — showed a decrease for each subject.
In the state writing test, high school sophomores scoring a 2 or 3 on a scale of 0 to 4 declined (with 4 the best). Scores for seventh- and fourth-graders declined as well.
Eighth-graders made a noticeable improvement on the science test, as proficient scorers improved by 19 percent from 2008-09. The number of students scoring minimal and basic dropped, and advanced scores increased.
McSwain said a new MAP program will make a positive difference in future scores. The program allows schools to track each student’s progress to identify strengths and weaknesses. Administrators identify these areas based on quarterly results.
“We can detect where our students are ready to learn on an individual basis,” McSwain said. “As we focus on our students individually, we’re expecting to see growth overall in our grades as well as in the testing areas.”
