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Math scores show improvement
Tiffany Shirley, Staff Writer The preliminary scores are in, and the data show that all of the elementary and middle schools in Caldwell County have made expected or high academic growth for the 2007-08 school year. Although the scores are not yet official and still require approval by North Carolina's State Board of Education (SBE), Caldwell County Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve Stone said they are a good indicator of the hard work that is taking place inside the classrooms in Caldwell County. "The only scores that are released at this point are the math scores, and the only ones we have some true figures on are the math scores for the elementary and middle schools," Stone said. "But, I would be surprised if we don't do extremely well in reading. Our kids are really picking that up." The ABCs of public education is a program that focuses on Accountability, teaching the Basics with a focus on high educational standards and the maximum local Control, and was developed by the SBE in response to the School-Based Management and Accountability Program enacted in June 1996 by the North Carolina General Assembly. The program establishes a standard for academic growth for each school, which is used to gauge the rate at which students in the schools learned during an academic school year. Unlike the Annual Yearly Progress, or AYPs, the ABCs are based on individual performance compiled within the school. Because this year's reading tests have been revamped by the state, the scores are not expected to be released until the fall. According to Libby Brown, Caldwell County Schools community relations director, because of the delayed reporting of newly revised reading End of Grade (EOG) tests and the adoption of the achievement standards, the academic growth model is determined based on the math scores and other components, but the EOG Reading Comprehension Edition 3 test scores will not be included in the academic growth model for the 2007-08 school year. The preliminary scores show that out of the 21 schools with reportable data, 18 of them have achieved high growth status including: Baton Elementary, Collettsville, Davenport A+, Dudley Shoals Elementary, Gamewell Elementary, Granite Falls Elementary, Granite Falls Middle, Happy Valley, Hudson Elementary, Hudson Middle, Kings Creek, Lower Creek Elementary, Oak Hill, Sawmills Elementary, Valmead Elementary, West Lenoir Elementary, Whitnel Elementary and William Lenoir Middle, and the other three, including Gamewell Middle and alternative schools Horizons and Gateway, have met expected growth, which, according to Stone, means they grew as much as the state said they should. "High growth is the highest designation you can get. At some point, the state will come back and say this is a school of distinction, this is a school of excellence and those have not been determined by the state yet," Stone said. "We won't know until the reading scores are back." Because the status of alternative schools is based on achievement data and local options outlined in school improvement plans, high growth status still is undetermined for the alternative schools. "We already know they've met state standards," Stone said. "But we also believe those will be high growth as well. We're still waiting on some distinctions from the state." Stone said the preliminary scores show the importance students and teachers have placed on continuing to make improvements year after year. "We are very pleased to see all elementary and middle schools making academic growth this year," Stone said. "One of the hallmarks of the Caldwell County Schools is the expectation of rigorous academic performance in every school, and teachers, students and administrators have successfully responded to this challenge and will continue to move to greater academic expectations." With the continuing efforts to add rigor to the curriculum, Caldwell County Board of Education Chairwoman Dottie Darsie said the average person would be amazed to see the level of difficulty in Caldwell County classrooms, particularly in the area of math. "I think a great many people would be surprised at the level of math now taught in the lower grades," Darsie said. "We feel really good about what is happening in the classrooms, and these schools are providing children with great opportunities for the future." Darsie said the addition of several programs also have allowed schools to make great strides in the area of reading. "Over the last several years, schools have implemented several research-based reading programs," she said. "Teachers know students learn differently, and these programs help address the needs of all children." Along with new programs, Stone said pacing guides help teachers to identify priority objectives, and the hands-on approach to learning the school system is known for also giving teachers some supplemental ways to educate students. Although the preliminary report only gives composite scores for the West Caldwell, Hibriten and South Caldwell high schools, Stone said he anticipates all three will at least meet the expected growth standards. "The high school formula is still being tinkered with by the SBE, as well as alternative schools," Stone said. "You'll see some real solid growth there, but we don't (yet) have the designations (as to) whether or not they've met high growth or expected growth." The state average will not be available until the final ABCs scores are released, but Stone said he is confident Caldwell County Schools will be at or above the state average in most categories. "The big thing we look at in Caldwell County is not low performing schools, because historically we don't have those," Stone said. "The big emphasis for us is whether or not the schools met their growth and whether or not they have the high growth. And high growth is defined as getting a year and 10 percent. So not only are you getting what you should have gotten that year, meaning you've met (expected growth), you've gotten 10 percent or more." Stone said scores typically reflect a decrease when a test is revised, but said as the teachers become more familiar with the curriculum, they adapt and in time scores increase. "When we re-configure the test, we're putting new curriculum – and, therefore, as teachers are exposed to the curriculum – they get more comfortable with it. They get better at it year after year," he said. "They become comfortable with how to teach it to make sure the kids are getting it. So every year we'd be disappointed if we didn't see some really good gains from our math scores, and this year is no exception. This is the second year of the math test. It was re-configured last year, so math scores across the state took a dip, but this is the second year of the test, so you're seeing (the success) as we adapt to the new curriculum." Not only can local educators see the fruits of their labor through the preliminary test scores, but superior school performance under the ABCs also means many of the them will receive incentive bonuses as funded by the SBE from funds appropriated by the General Assembly – something Stone said is well-deserved. "So all in all I think for the ABCs and for Caldwell County Schools, particularly in the area of math, which I think we'll be repeating in reading, this is probably the best year ever in the 12-year history of the ABCs program," Stone said. "And that has everything to do with what is going on in the classroom. Our teachers are the best, and they are doing a phenomenal job."
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