North Pike third-graders scored fifth in the state in math on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers assessment.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jay Smith told school district trustees Thursday night that other high scores included eighth-grade math, which came in at 14th in the state.
Superintendent Dennis Penton said he wants North Pike compared statewide instead of just regionally.
“I feel good about these scores, but this is the only time we will take the PARCC exam,” he said, explaining that state officials decided to use a formula other than the PARCC for future accreditation purposes.
The scores trustees received were raw scores, and only included those from students who scored a four or five on a one-to-five scale, Smith said.
“One is minimum understanding and five is distinguished understanding,” he said.
Lower scores reported were in sixth-grade math, which came in at 59th in the state and Algebra I at 85th.
Penton said the exam was difficult this year for Algebra I students because the test differed from what teachers taught last year.
“We will teach to the curriculum and work with focus groups to get back up where we need to be,” he said.
The score for the high school English exam also proved to be much lower than hoped at 75th in the state.
“It’s still not where we want it, but we already had steps in place for improve those scores,” he said.
Board member Etta Taplin asked fellow trustees and Penton if they could further discuss the scores at the February meeting so members could have more time to look over them.
Penton and fellow members agreed that was a good idea.
“At this point, we know how students have done on the assessments, but there are still too many variables for accreditation,” he said.
