Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 11, 1994                   TAG: 9408220045
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE                                 LENGTH: Medium

CRAIG STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IMPROVES BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS

Members of the Craig County School Board were pleased with the results but disappointed that the system did not receive any media coverage.

Five years ago, Craig's sixth-grade students came in near the bottom on the state's Literacy Passport Test, but on the recent test, the number of sixth-graders passing the three-part test came within a percentage point of the statewide average.

``Five years ago, when we were low, we got big headlines,'' said Superintendent Dallas Helems, holding up a July 29 edition of the Roanoke Times & World-News that had an Associated Press report from Richmond listing the statewide test results.

``Now, we are near the top and don't even get mentioned,'' Helems said.

Pete Controvich, principal of McCleary Elementary, said the percentage of students passing the test each year continues to increase.

A larger percentage of Craig sixth-graders passed the reading and writing segments during the 1993-94 school year than their counterparts in other Roanoke and New River valley school districts.

In the math category, Craig was lowest among the same schools, and Controvich said math will get increased emphasis in the coming school term.

Overall, Craig's 69.8 percent of students passing all three categories of the test ranked sixth among the 11 school divisions in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

``It is amazing what we've done to raise scores,'' Controvich said, ``considering that five years ago, Craig was second-lowest in the state.''

To correct that situation, the School Board set up a program to identify students having trouble in any subject at any grade level and then arranged more individual teaching.

In the five years since the program began, the percentage of Craig students passing the reading test rose from 58.2 to 90.7.

In writing, the increase was from 60.4 percent to 93.

In math, the increase was from 56.4 percent to 69.8.

Controvich said only two of the state's 133 school divisions had higher percentages than Craig in the reading category. Eight divisions had higher passing percentages in writing, and 10 were higher in math.

On the overall percentage, Controvich said, ``Craig scored better than 77 of the 133 divisions in the report.''