School Districts Will Analyze Assessment Tests

Thu., Sept. 18, 1997

Amy Scribner Staff writer

The results are in for fourth-grade assessment tests for school districts in Spokane’s outlying areas, and they mirror what District 81 announced last week: Most students did not meet the standards of the new test the state administered last spring.

Cheney, Liberty and Medical Lake schools received the first glimpse at results this week, and while the scores may not be entirely good news, educators are quick to point out the results are being viewed in a positive light.

Cheney School District Superintendent Phil Snowdon said his district is “far from discouraged” with the outcome. He said he believes the feedback will provide a means to improve education.

“Although the results were disappointing in some areas, educators are asking students, parents and the community to view this as a starting point on the road to much higher standards throughout Cheney schools,” he said.

Pam Veltri, director of curriculum and student services for the Medical Lake School District, said her district was also treating the scores as constructive data.

“This test sets the standard for the state, so now we know what to aim for,” she said.

As with other districts around Spokane, the math portion of the test proved to be toughest for students.

In the Liberty School District, less than 4 percent of the 50 students tested achieved math standards. It is a figure Superintendent Eugene Berquam said deserves more analysis before any conclusions are drawn.

“We have to look, out of the other 96 percent, how close they were to meeting the standard,” he said.

Berquam said his district will be looking closely at all the numbers related to the test, including past scores of the fourth-graders to see if they are a historically strong testing group.

“That will give us some context,” he said.

The idea that more analysis of the test is needed is one being echoed throughout the districts.

Medical Lake Superintendent Neal Powell said teachers will be working in teams to scrutinize the test questions in order to better teach the material to students.

The Spokane-area districts joined 261 others from around the state to voluntarily take the test last spring. Mandatory testing is slated to begin in the 2000-2001 school year.

Here are the results for the three districts, with scores representing the percentage of students meeting the standard:

Cheney School District: math, 15.5 percent; reading, 51.1 percent; writing, 42.0 percent; and listening, 69.7 percent.

Liberty School District: math, 3.9 percent; reading, 31.4 percent; writing, 9.8 percent; and listening, 47.1 percent.

Medical Lake School District: math, 25.9 percent; reading, 53.9 percent; writing, 43.5 percent; and listening, 67.9 percent.

, DataTimes

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