State students beat average on skills test

Washington’s third- and sixth-graders again performed better than the national average on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, officials announced Tuesday. Several groups of students also improved over last year’s scores.

The ITBS is a multiple-choice test given annually to students nationwide. It measures basic skills in reading and math, and for sixth-graders, language arts as well. The norm-referenced test shows how well students did compared to others, with scores showing the percentage of students who scored the same or lower than them. The national average is 50.

Results for Asian and African American third-graders rose in reading and math and for Hispanic third-graders in reading. Native American, Asian, African American and Hispanic sixth-graders all improved their scores in reading. Scores for white students in both grades exceeded the national average but stayed the same as last year.

“It is a tremendous compliment to our teachers and other school staff that our students continue to do well on the ITBS,” State Superintendent Terry Bergeson said in a news release. “But … we still have a significant achievement gap for some of our students. We need to continue working together to help all students achieve our state’s learning standards and erase this gap.”

In Spokane Public Schools, reading scores stayed the same for third- and sixth-graders but dropped in the other subjects.

In Central Valley School District, third-graders’ scores dropped in reading and math, while sixth-graders’ scores improved in all subjects.