ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Students in many Western Virginia school systems scored higher on national standardized tests of math, reading and other academic skills in the past year, but scores in some localities remained below the state average.
The biggest increases in the percentage of students scoring above the national average were in the eighth grade, but there also were gains in the fourth and 11th grades, a new report card on the state's schools show.
Ten localities in Western Virginia recorded increases in the 1994-95 school year in the percentage of eighth-graders with composite scores above the national 50th percentile.
The biggest gains in the region were in Craig, Floyd, Franklin and Montgomery counties and the cities of Roanoke and Salem, according to the Virginia Department of Education's latest report on 1,700 schools and 134 school systems in Virginia.
Western Virginia localities above the state average for eighth-graders are Franklin County, 70 percent; Montgomery County, 63 percent; Radford, 76 percent; Roanoke County, 70 percent; and Salem, 70 percent.
Those below the state figure include Bedford County, 56 percent; Botetourt County, 55 percent; Craig County, 56 percent; Floyd County, 57 percent; Giles County, 50 percent; Pulaski County, 52 percent; and Roanoke, 50 percent.
Statewide, the number of eighth-graders scoring scoring above the national average increased from 57 percent to 58 percent.
Some educators said their school systems have been giving more attention to standardized tests in recent years because of increasing publicity about test scores.
James Sellers, assistant superintendent for instruction for Montgomery County schools, said his county has tried to ensure that the skills measured in standardized tests are included in the curriculum.
"Test scores are meaningful to the public, and we consider that in curriculum development," Sellers said. The curriculum is not focused directly on preparation for standardized tests, he said, but the school system wants students to acquire the skills to score high on them.
In Roanoke, Superintendent Wayne Harris has made higher test scores one of his priorities. He has set a goal for the city to increase the number of students scoring above the 50th percentile by four percentage points in each of the next three years.
"We must hold higher expectations [for those scoring below the national average]," Harris said. Roanoke has expanded a training program for teachers to help raise student achievement.
At the fourth-grade level, the percentage of students exceeding the national average increased in Bedford, Craig , Floyd, Franklin and Montgomery counties as well as Roanoke and Salem. In the 11th grade, Botetourt, Craig, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski counties had increases, along with Roanoke and Salem.
At the state level, the number of fourth-graders scoring above the national median increased from 63 percent to 64 percent, and the percentage of 11th-graders remained the same at 60 percent.
In Western Virginia, Salem had the highest percentage of fourth-graders above the national average on standardized tests, 83 percent, and the highest for 11th-graders, 72 percent.
Joe Kirby, Salem's director of instruction, said the improvement in academic achievement is also reflected in the increasing number of Salem students taking advanced-placement courses. Twenty-eight percent of juniors and seniors took at least one advanced course while in high school.
The state's annual report, called the Outcome Accountability Project, includes data on test scores, attendance, advanced placement courses, dropout rates, overage students, physical fitness, vocational programs and other performance indicators.
The report includes data on 46 indicators for the past five years. State education officials said there has been an improvement in 31 performance measures during that period, but there was improvement in only 17 categories, or 37 percent, during the past year.
Since the state began collecting the data, education officials said more students are taking tougher courses and many are taking them earlier in school.
Statewide, the number of students taking algebra and a foreign language before high school has increased, and more graduates are learning computer keyboarding skills, earning college credit through advanced placement courses and earning the more rigorous advanced studies diploma.
In the past five years, the number of students taking algebra before ninth grade increased from 18 to 29 percent. There has been a 6 percentage point increase - to 47 percent - in the number of students earning advanced-studies diplomas.
The report also showed improved attendance and fewer overage students in elementary and middle schools.
Schools in Western Virginia reflect the statewide trends in most categories, but only three localities reached or exceeded the state average for advanced diplomas in the past year: Bedford County, 51 percent; Roanoke County, 50 percent; and Salem, 47 percent.
The schools have shown improvement in educating students who expect to enter the job market immediately after high school, but the dropout rate remains above the state average in several localities.
More students are completing vocational education programs and showing improvement in basic reading and math skills. They're also taking more keyboarding and typing skills.
In Botetourt County in the past year, 99 percent of the seniors with no college plans finished a vocational education program. In Giles County, it was 98 percent; Pulaski County, 95 percent; Salem, 83 percent; Floyd County, 80 percent; and Roanoke, 74 percent. The state average was 73 percent.
Bedford and Roanoke counties have a dropout rate of 2 percent for students in grades 9-12, the lowest in the region, but the rate in several localities exceeds the state average of 5 percent. Roanoke has the highest dropout rate at 8 percent, followed by Craig, Franklin and Montgomery counties.
Other results for Western Virginia schools for the 1994-95 school year include:
* Bedford County: 100 percent of 12th-graders took a class in keyboarding or typing while in school; 39 percent of fourth- and fifth-graders passed all physical fitness tests.
* Botetourt County: 60 percent of students in grades 9-12 missed 10 days or less from school; 14 percent of eighth-graders took algebra before the ninth grade.
* Craig County: 58 percent of 12th-graders took a class in keyboarding or typing while in school; 54 percent of sixth-graders passed all three parts of the state's Literary Passport Test.
* Franklin County: 69 percent of children in kindergarten-grade 5 were absent 10 days or fewer; 62 percent of sixth-graders passed all three parts of the Literary Passport Test.
* Montgomery County: 20 percent of eighth-graders took a foreign language before the ninth grade; 45 percent of fourth- and fifth-graders passed all physical fitness tests.
* Radford: 84 percent of sixth-graders passed all three parts of the Literary Passport Test; 69 percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 were absent 10 days or fewer.
* Roanoke: 51 percent of students in grades 9-12 were absent 10 days or less; 95 percent of 12th-graders took a class in keyboarding or typing while they were in school.
* Roanoke County: 22 percent of eighth-graders took algebra before the ninth grade; 82 percent of children in kindergarten through grade 5 were absent 10 days or less.
* Salem: 100 percent of 12th-graders took a class in keyboarding or typing while they were in school; 31 percent of eighth-graders took a foreign language before the ninth grade.
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by staff: Report card '94/'95.by CNB