THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290536
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
A push by local school districts to toughen academic standards and better prepare students for life after high school seems to be bearing fruit.
More middle school students are taking foreign languages and algebra. More high school students are taking advanced courses and earning college-prep diplomas; many leave school with college credits in hand.
Those are among the clearest trends to emerge in the state's annual report card, which was released Thursday and provides five years of data that track school performance, from 1990-91 to 1994-95.
Across the board, students in this region are taking more rigorous classes.
Take Portsmouth: For the first time, the percentage of eighth-graders who had studied algebra - 29 percent in 1994-95 - equaled the statewide average and topped Virginia Beach, which overall has the best track record for preparing kids for college. Five years ago, only 11 percent of eighth-graders in Portsmouth had studied the subject.
Elsewhere, other districts showing significant increases in middle school algebra were Norfolk, 8 percent to 18 percent, and Virginia Beach, 11 percent to 23 percent.
Carroll R. Bailey Jr., principal of Hunt-Mapp Middle School in Portsmouth, calls algebra a ``gatekeeper'' subject. Research shows that students who pass algebra and geometry increase their chances of success in college. And, Bailey said, students increase their options by taking as much advanced math as possible, he said.
``Kids are going to have to be aware of and deal with a technical world around them,'' Bailey said. ``Having algebra and higher-level thinking skills are going to be required of them. You don't need algebra to work at (fast-food restaurants) but to go beyond that - say, to program the computerized cash registers - you need some of those skills.''
Also significant: Norfolk made dramatic gains in attendance, in large part by reducing the number of days a student can be absent and still pass. In middle schools, where the most impressive strides were made, the percentage of students who missed more than 10 days of school dropped from 63 percent in 1990-91 to 44 percent last year.
Statewide, school districts overall also are doing a better job of preparing students for college. Students improved their performance on 17 indicators, showed no change on 20 and did worse on nine, according to the report, presented to the state Board of Education in Richmond.
In the report issued a year ago, students improved on 26 indicators, stayed the same on 10 and did worse on 10.
Education officials said students statewide generally have improved their performance during the five years of the report card. Since the initial report, scores have gone up on two-thirds of the indicators.
``If you look at the track record over time, you'll see significant gains,'' said Doris Redfield, the education department's division chief for assessment and reporting.
Local school officials say they're trying to make education more relevant, relying less on teacher lectures and using more group learning techniques and hands-on activities that actively engage students.
``Just from the modern environment, many more children have VCRs and technology at home, and they're not content anymore to just sit and listen to the teacher talk,'' said Thomas B. Lockamy Jr., assistant superintendent for school governance in Norfolk.
Local educators said they don't plan to slack up on academics.
Suffolk may follow Norfolk and eliminate the general diploma, said Milton Liverman, Suffolk's assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum. Critics contend the general diploma allows students to slip through school doing the minimum work required by the state to graduate - leaving them unprepared for work or college.
In addition, Suffolk is making a strong push to interest students in Tech Prep, which combines academics with technical training.
``We are adding rigor to our curriculum,'' Liverman said, ``and we want to get to the point where everyone of our students leaves with a marketable skill.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
STATEWIDE RESULTS
Across the state, school districts overall also are doing
a better job of preparing students for college:
Students improved their performance on 17 indicators.
Students showed no change on 20 and did worse on nine.
KEYWORDS: SCHOOLS REPORT CARD by CNB