THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410250092
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
NORFOLK PUBLIC schools officials want to produce more National Merit scholars, more college-bound students and more students eligible for academic scholarships. So they're starting kids early.
Hundreds of talented middle-schoolers are being encouraged to enroll in tougher classes such as algebra and to take the Preliminary SAT, a precursor to the college entrance exam.
Algebra, normally a ninth-grade course, is available to qualifying eighth-graders in all eight middle schools. Some talented seventh-graders also are taking the course.
Usually, only high school juniors take the PSAT and can qualify for scholarships. But research has shown that exposing kids to the PSAT at an earlier age has a ``ripple effect.'' It encourages students to take more challenging courses, and they typically have better grade-point averages and higher SAT scores and apply to more four-year colleges.
During 1993-94, two Norfolk juniors scored high enough on the PSAT to qualify as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Another 11 barely missed qualifying and were classified as ``commended'' students. One African-American student was named a National Achievement semifinalist, a category for high-scoring minorities.
``That's the most Norfolk public schools has had in recent memory,'' said Pamela Kloeppel, guidance coordinator for Norfolk schools.
In Virginia, Norfolk is in the vanguard of a movement to recruit middle-school students to take the PSAT. Kloeppel said College Board officials reported that 488 of the 582 middle-schoolers who took the 1993 PSAT in Virginia were enrolled in Norfolk public schools.
Earlier this month, seventh- and eighth-graders - ranging from 40 to 135 at each of the city's middle schools - put pencil to paper and sweated out the nearly three-hour PSAT.
At Lafayette-Winona, 61 students braved the PSAT, about 40 percent of them African American. The student body at the school is about 70 percent black.
Kids drawn into the accelerated middle-school program are not necessarily straight-A students. Some making C's on their report cards could be tapped, since a letter grade does not always measure ability, said Judy Gutterman, a counselor at Lafayette-Winona. They could be underachievers who just need encouragement.
Candidates are identified in elementary school, primarily by their scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Fourth-graders around the country take the standardized test, which measures their skill in math, reading, language arts, social studies and science.
The highest scorers - those in the 97th percentile or above, the top 3 percent of students - are tapped to participate as part of the Johns Hopkins University's talent-search program. But students scoring within the top quarter nationally, preferably above the 80th percentile, are recruited at Lafayette-Winona, Gutterman said.
``We're dipping down to that student who might be a C-student but who has potential,'' Gutterman said. ``It could be that student who, when teachers hear his name it spells trouble, but is really very bright.''
The effort has won over parents skeptical of the public school system's ability to engage the brightest students.
``It's been such a building block to let parents know we have an academic track that is rigorous and challenging,'' Stephen Peters, principal of Lafayette-Winona, said.
The accelerated studies program at Lafayette-Winona focuses on math, language skills and computer use. Eighth-grade participants take algebra 1 for high school credit, while seventh-graders study pre-algebra. Questions from old PSAT tests are used in classroom instruction.
``Studies have shown that the more practice you have, the more scores can come up,'' Gutterman said. ``That's what we're aiming for.''
Students said the PSAT was difficult, but they appreciate the opportunity to take it and to take tougher courses.
``It's challenging,'' said Henry Thompson, 13, an eighth-grader at Lafayette-Winona who hopes to study science in college. ``A lot of times, teachers will give you work and they expect you do it more precisely than other students.''
Henry's sister, seventh-grader Joi, 12, and eighth-grader Kaneisha Heckstall, 13, both African Americans, said the instruction they receive has helped make them comfortable taking the test.
``Last year, I misunderstood a lot of things,'' said Kaneisha, who wants to become a pediatrician and already knows she wants to attend Spelman College in Atlanta. ``It's helped on my math.''
``I'm getting better on my verbal skills,'' said Joi, who wants to teach math.
Joe Putney, 12, a seventh-grader, said he thinks the middle-school curriculum overall should be tougher for all students.
``A lot of it is review,'' said Putney, who has his eyes on the skies. He wants to become an aeronautics engineer.
But even though their school offers them a more challenging regimen than the average student, the students said another ingredient also is key - parental support.
``I have been motivated by my mom,'' Kaneisha said. ``I feel she's the reason where I'm at.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Teacher Ruth Smith works with her students in the computer lab at
Lafayette-Winona to help them prepare for taking the PSAT, a
precursor to the college entrance exam.
by CNB