Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508140026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The county ranked 17 percentage points below the state average and landed dead last when compared with other counties in the New River and Roanoke valleys.
Wednesday, Giles County school administrators proposed a way to turn those numbers around.
They met with the School Board to introduce a new way to approach the Literacy Passport and three other tests given to pupils throughout their school career.
During the past year, committees made up of principals, teachers, parents, counselors and older students have developed "student achievement plans."
While plans vary at the two high schools, three secondary schools and one vocational center in the county, all focus on the same goals:
Involving the entire community in raising test scores
Using test results to focus on problems and to praise strong points
Providing teachers, students and parents the means to improve achievement
Superintendent Bob McCracken acknowledged that, though test scores are not the sole indication of how students are performing, people in Giles County have avoided addressing the low results.
"We've gone through a denial period within the community," he said.
But he emphasized that scare tactics and pressure won't be used to raise scores. Last week, Superintendant Wayne Harris offered $5,000 to Roanoke schools that improve test scores and attendance rates, telling principals they will be held directly accountable for their schools' progress.
"Nobody will get fired because test scores don't improve," McCracken said. "We want to validate what's right and what needs work in our schools."
Sixth-graders throughout the state take the Literacy Passport Test. They can continue taking the test if they fail, but must pass before being considered a ninth-grader. Students solve math problems, answer questions about passages they read, and write several paragraphs on their own.
"Looking at just the [Literacy Passport Test] to determine where our kids are is like peering through a keyhole at an elephant," said Ron Whetzel, director of curriculum for Giles.
Instead, he said, they need to look at scores in context, tracking students over several years. What is important, Whetzel said, is not how students perform now, but whether they improve in years to come.
For example, McCracken noted that by the time eighth-graders take the test, fewer than one-half of 1 percent fail.
Other tests illustrate different points. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills measures student achievement in the fourth, eighth and 11th grades. The Outcome Accountability Project compares school districts within the state using criteria such as dropout rate and student-teacher ratio. "Off-year" testing hits secondary school pupils on the years they're not tested by the other two.
All can be used to improve student scores, Whetzel said, if they're used correctly. For example, changing the time of year tests are given can help teachers track student improvement. Giles County secondary schools used to give off-year tests in the spring, which made results obsolete by the time scores came back - students had moved to the next grade.
This year, they'll test students in October. Teachers can use the data to focus on weak areas.
How do you fire up Giles High School students to sit for three hours and try their hardest? Give them a day off, said Principal Steve Fitch. On Student Achievement Day, students who improve their scores will have the day to themselves.
Eastern Elementary and Middle School plans to emphasize writing - a skill found weakest in testing. The theme "Celebrate Writing" will continue throughout the year, with programs that let children read their own work to classmates.
All this will be communicated to parents and the community.
That way, said School Board member J.B. Buckland, the community will understand what's behind the numbers.
"Because when those numbers were printed in the paper, all people saw was that Giles was lower," he said during the meeting. "And I just don't buy that."
by CNB