Only three members of the public were present for Tuesday night”s Starkville School District board meeting where officials discussed results of statewide testing that show much room for improvement.
Assistant Superintendent Beth Sewell broke the numbers down in a variety of ways. Charts showed state performance, districtwide performance, performance by grade and cohort performance, which in this case showed how the students in an individual grade this year performed for the last three years.
Some trends were negative, but some showed movement in the right direction. One of the most stark comparisons showed the performance of black and white high school students in history, biology, algebra and English II.
With one exception, Sewell”s data showed more than twice as many white students as black students performing at proficient or higher levels on the state testing for 2010.
“We want to decrease that gap so we have all of our students perform at proficient and above,” Sewell told the board.
In the history portion of the Subject Area Test Program, about 38 percent of black students and 91 percent of white students met proficient or above. In biology, about 40 percent of black students and 85 percent of white students met the proficiency or above standard.
In algebra, about 42 percent of black students and 80 percent of white students measured proficient or advanced, and in English II, an estimated 34 percent of black students and 71 percent of white students met a similar mark.
Sewell said the Starkville School District has a Quality Distribution Index of 139, classified as academic watch, down from 140 in 2009. Starkville High”s QDI dropped from 170 to 159 and Henderson”s QDI dropped from 147 in 2009 to 136 in 2010. Ward Stewart saw the biggest QDI increase from 130 to 142, while Armstrong failed to meet growth standards but its QDI improved from 130 in 2009 to 134 in 2010.
A series of slides showed the percentage of students scoring as minimal, basic, proficient or advanced in grades 3-8 in math and language arts on the Mississippi Curriculum Test and MCT2 tests. Others showed the performance of high school students on state algebra, English, biology and history tests.
“We need to eliminate or have the smallest percentage be red (scoring minimal), with the greatest percentage being green and blue (proficient and advanced),” Sewell said.
She said teachers have been given a tremendous amount of data on their students” performance. Through the use of a variety of tools, they are working to help their students learn more.
“The teachers are excited about the use of data and how they”re focusing on where the kids are now and how to move them up to the next level,” Sewell said. “We put a lot of things in front of them last year and this year, and now they see where we”re going.”
Board member Keith Coble commented on the rate at which changes are being implement in the school district and the increase in what is expected of teachers.
“I appreciate those who are taking the challenge and meeting the challenge,” Coble said.
The report came as part of Tuesday night”s regular scheduled board meeting. Board members Lee Brand Jr. and Bill Weeks were absent.
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