Arkansas City, Kan. – USD 470 students earned more awards after the 2009 State Assessments than ever before. The district earned 37 Standards of Excellence awards topping last year’s total of 32.
Standards of Excellence, The Kansas State Department of Education’s highest honor, is based on the percentage of students who score proficient or above on the state assessments in math and reading. That percentage varies by grade level and subject. That percentage also increases each year, making it harder to obtain the awards.
We are delighted to see these results and are proud of the successful efforts made by our staff, the students, and their families,” Dr. Jan Voss, Assoc. Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said. “These results line up with our continued improvement since No Child Left Behind began.”
In 2005, the district earned 10 Standards and that number has continued to rise to the 37 earned in 2009. Voss said that is only one of many indicators of student success apparent in the district. There has been an overall increase in the graduation rate over several years. In 2002, the graduation rate was 75.4 percent, while in 2009 it was 91.1 percent. ACT exam scores, though fluctuating, are also higher than in the past. In 2002, the average ACT composite score was 18.8 and it was 20.9 after the 2009 test.
“We have also noted fewer disciplinary referrals, a decrease in special education referrals, and an increase in the number of students going on to post-secondary programs,” Voss said. “All of these indicators point to overall student achievement and that is something we can all be proud of.”
While I thnk it's great that our children are scoring higher than usual, I still think that spending so much time just studying what's on the State assessments is taking away from the other stuff that used to be taught in schools. So much emphasis is placed on the State assessments that other things are rushed through or skipped entirely, and that is doing our children a disservice.
ReplyDeleteSome people can find a way to spin anything to a negative.
ReplyDeleteIf the scores were lower you would have said they need to spend more time on that instead of just RRR.
The world is changing. Stuff you were taught 50 years ago, isn't what is needed today.
I wasn't referring to things that were taught 50 years ago. I was referring to the fact that my kids don't know thigs they should. For example, using words wrong, or asking what words mean, when they are words they should know. When I ask them what they are learning they say All of their time is spent on the State assessments and nothing else. Do you have kids in school? My children score very high on the assessments, but like I say, there are things that are being neglected.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, October 23, 2009 12:02 PM said... "For example, using words wrong, or asking what words mean, when they are words they should know."
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Actually, I think you meant to say, "Using words "incorrectly"." But I get your point.
I am a parrent who complained loudly about the discipline issues over the past few years.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the educational quality was substandard. My sense over the last year or so, is that they have finally gotten a grasp on things, and turned the corner. This indeed is something to be celebrated.
What teachers and administrators have finally learned is how to teach to the tests, how to prep for the tests, and how best to give the tests. The one school that performed the worst has the most by-the-book, b@ll-busting principal in the system. She won't allow any of the practices to occur which benefit some students at other schools. There are an allowable number of accomodations which may be made in certain "situations," and nearly all schools use them in ways which will best increase scores, whether they are needed or not.
ReplyDeleteThe tests are not hard to beat in 1-on-1 or read-aloud conditions. You simply have to have teachers who know what is on the tests, and how to administer them.
To the first few posts - does the tested material have much practical use? Not really. Math more than reading, but overall, kids are applying concepts that they should have mastered two years prior. In reading, for example, the bulk of teaching time the last few years was spent on story structure, which this year has been removed from all tests.
It's funny - all of this came from a plan designed (granted, thinly veiled) to reduce funding to schools. Now that things have changed at the top, it will be interesting to see what happens to test scores nationally. My guess is there will be fewer schools not making AYP and not losing funding.
I really dont get why some of you people need to be so negative.
ReplyDeleteThe schools are making progress for crying out loud.
If your kid isnt where he or she should be, then as a parent, it is your responsibility to help the kid catch up.
Tests are a necessary evil. THey can be abused and dont always measure the right things, but how else are you going to know if the schools are improving?
Is there not anyone willing to say "nice job" to the schools because they are making progress?
Using words incorrectly is just another way of saying using words wrong. Neither is incorrect.
ReplyDeleteI think you can use words wrongly, or in a wrong fashion, you can even use the wrong words, but I do not think you can use words wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou are an idiot. You can use a hammer wrong. You can use a typewriter wrong. You can use a words wrong. Get over yourself.
ReplyDeleteyou can tune a piano, but you can't tune a fish
ReplyDeleteI can't tune a piano.
ReplyDeleteI can eat tune a fish, but I can't eat a piano.
ReplyDeleteI saw a guy on "That's Incredible" once that could though.
For you younguns, that was a TV show. That's how we saw cool things before Youtube existed.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYou are an idiot. You can use a hammer wrong. You can use a typewriter wrong. You can use a words wrong. Get over yourself.
October 25, 2009 11:42 AM
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Thanks for the encouraging words...
I'm no English major, but I still maintain that you can use a hammer wrongly, or in a wron fashion, or you might use the wrong hammer, but I do not thing it is propper to say you can use the hammer wrong.
Really, you all are funny arguing over words!
ReplyDeleteLOL, "but I do not 'thing' it is 'propper' to say you can use the hammer wrong. I think it is wiser to say, "but I do not think it is proper to say you can use the hammer wrong." And I am an English teacher.
ReplyDeleteNext???? Keep me laughing!
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