THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 14, 1995 TAG: 9508140165
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: STUART, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Patrick County ranked first in Virginia this year in the percentage of its sixth-graders who passed the state Literacy Passport test.
The rural southwest county's 91.3 percent pass rate was nearly 8 percentage points higher than Radford's, which ranked second among Virginia's 133 school systems.
Manassas was third this year with a 82.9 percent pass rate. Highland County, the state's least populous locality, came in fourth. Fairfax County, the most populous locality, finished fifth.
The passport test consists of reading, writing and math exams. The statewide pass rate for all three exams was 65.6 percent.
Students must pass all three parts to be classified as ninth-graders or above and to receive a high school diploma. They can retake the test if they fail.
Patrick's pass rates for the individual exams were even higher than the 91.3 percent rate for all three. The rate for reading was 95.5 percent; writing, 95.9 percent; and math, 98 percent.
The test results have created a stir in Patrick County, which has a population of 17,473.
``We've gotten a lot of attention because of the test. It doesn't happen around this place very often,'' said Lois Kloock, director of instruction for the county schools.
The district has always ranked high in the test, finishing in the top five last year.
Patrick County has only seven schools - one high school and six elementary schools. It has a total school enrollment of 2,611 - fewer than some high schools in the state.
The county is not only smaller, but poorer, than many school systems in Virginia.
Patrick spent $4,552 per pupil on education in the 1993-94 school year, the last year for which statistics are available on all school systems in Virginia. By comparison, Arlington spent $8,898 per pupil, and Falls Church spent $8,745.
The test is a centerpiece of the county's elementary curriculum. The county gives a certificate to every sixth-grader who passes all three tests.
Teachers begin preparing children for the exams in the first grade by providing tutorial help to those who are having trouble learning to read. The federally funded Title I program also provides remedial reading and writing services for disadvantaged children in the first three grades.
Kloock said the county has a low teacher-pupil ratio in the early elementary grades - 1-to-20 or lower in all classes - so teachers can give children more individual attention.
The schools use the results of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for fourth-graders to identify pupils who are having trouble with basic skills and target them for remedial services.
The schools also use computer programs in reading, writing and math to help the pupils acquire proficiency in these areas, she said. by CNB