THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995                TAG: 9508170159
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: 07   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   55 lines

LOCAL SIXTH-GRADERS DIDN'T SCORE AS WELL THIS YEAR ON LITERACY TEST

Chesapeake sixth-graders showed a citywide drop in the percentage passing the math and writing portions of the state's Literacy Passport Test, the exam every student will have to pass to graduate high school.

The test measures mastery of basic reading, writing and math skills.

While a handful of schools improved on the reading portion of the test, the city's overall rate dropped. Most of the state's 136 school districts showed similar declines.

``We're concerned about the changes in the Literacy Passport test scores,'' Chesapeake schools spokesman Tom Cupitt said.

While the numbers were only ``slightly lower'' than last year, the division will review the scores to see whether any specific action is needed ``to improve our testing results,'' Cupitt said.

In two schools, Treakle and Oscar F. Smith Middle, fewer than half the sixth-graders passed all three portions of the test. At Oscar F. Smith, barely one in four passed.

Three schools exceeded the state average of 65.6 percent for students passing all three sections: Great Bridge Middle North, 79.7 percent; Crestwood Middle, 68.4 percent; and Western Branch Middle, 67.1 percent.

The writing portion was a downfall for many schools in the state, possibly because of a change in format. Last year, students were allowed to write two essays, with the highest score being recorded. This year, they wrote only one. Statewide, writing numbers dropped from 84.2 percent passing last year to 77.6 percent this year. Chesapeake's decline was slightly smaller, from 81.8 percent to 75.5 percent.

Despite some higher pass rates in reading at some individual schools, Chesapeake showed a slight decline citywide from 77.8 percent to 77.2 percent, while the state as a whole posted a slight gain, up from 79.3 percent to 80.1 percent.

Both the statewide and Chesapeake numbers fell in math, although the city's schools dropped by a larger margin. The city slipped from 84.9 percent to 81.8 percent passing, while the state declined from 85.5 percent to 83.6 percent. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

Test Scores

Percentage of sixth-graders passing all three sections of the

Literacy Passport Test.

[School]

[Year]

For copy of graphic, see microfilm

KEYWORDS: LITERACY PASSPORT TEST CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS RESULTS by CNB