Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Student Tests: Math Needs Improvement

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A majority of Sitka School District pupils were “proficient” or “advanced” on the most recent statewide tests for English language arts and science, the Sitka School Board was told Tuesday night.
    But at the same time, school district officials said, a majority of students in Sitka schools scored “below proficient” and “far below proficient” in math.
    In all results, Sitka students scored higher on average than their counterparts across Alaska state in the state-mandated PEAKS test. PEAKS stands for Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools.
    Sarah Ferrency, co-assistant superintendent and district test coordinator, presented dozens of slides breaking down the test results in a 90-minute board work session that followed a short special meeting.
    The two new board members, Dionne Brady-Howard and Elias Erickson, were sworn in and Jennifer McNichol was elected board president by secret ballot. Cass Pook was elected vice president, and Eric Van Cise was elected clerk.
    At the work session Ferrency made a slide presentation about the tests, which were given last spring. The results were released in September.
    The test tells the district how well students are meeting state standards, where the achievement gaps are for different subgroups, and how well Sitka students are performing compared to the rest of the state, Ferrency said. However, other valuable data is missing with this particular test, she said.
    She listed several unanswered questions: “How are Sitka students doing compared to students across the nation? What do we need to do to teach better so they can improve? How do we need to change our schools to better support students who are in under-performing subgroups?”
    And would it be worth it – in terms of additional dollars and classroom time – to explore other tests to answer these questions? she asked.
    Ferrency described another test, MAP Growth, that was piloted at Blatchley Middle School and Pacific High during the last school year, in the areas of reading, language use and math that may help fill in some gaps. MAP stands for Measure of Academic Progress.
    No fan of testing herself, she asked whether the $8,000 cost of the new test, and classroom time, would be worth it, given that this test would be on top of other tests already required.
    In the case of eighth grade, which has the most tests of any grade, all the testing combined could amount to 1.5 percent of the student’s classroom time.
    The pilot test for MAP Growth told the district that Blatchley students performed slightly better than other U.S. students, Ferrency said.
    Eighth grade subgroups broke down the same in MAP Growth as the other tests, showing achievement gaps between white students and Alaska Native students in the three subject areas.
    The district is still exploring whether to expand the use of MAP in other grades. Ferrency noted plans are moving ahead to try MAP at Sitka High next spring. She added that Blatchley teachers found the MAP data so useful they asked that the tests be given to Keet Gooshi Heen fifth graders so Blatchley could have advance information about them ahead of time.
    But she commented that the district will consider adding the test only if the data will be used well. She said the principals are working with teachers to identify priorities for next year.
    The district is required to test using the PEAKS system for grades 3 through 10, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress every other year for grades 4 and 8.
    PEAKS is the “new mandated state standards based summative assessment,” Ferrency explained in her slide presentation to the school board. NAEP is the nationally normed assessment which gives the public an idea of how the Alaskan education system compares to the national. MAP or MAP Growth provides the district with a “measure of growth over time for Sitka and individual students” and other useful information for teachers and administrators.
    Ferrency provided some thumbnail results for PEAKS, which showed:
    In English Language Arts for the 712 students in the 3-10 grades tested – as compared to the state standards:
    – 19 percent far below proficient, and 26 percent below proficient (45 percent total less than proficient).
    – 40 percent proficient, and 15 percent highly proficient (55 percent).
    In math for the same grades and same test:
    - 10 percent were far below proficient, and 53 below proficient (63 percent total less than proficient)
    - 34 percent proficient and 3 percent advanced (37 percent).
    In science, for grades 4, 8 and 10 from the Alaska Science Assessment:
    – 13 percent far below and 20 percent below proficient (33 percent less than proficient)
    – 32 percent proficient and 35 percent advanced (67 percent).
    Ferrency said she didn’t find it surprising to see the higher achievement scores in science, given the rich scientific community in Sitka and the science resources contributed to the schools.
    She said the science standards haven’t been updated since 2006, and may be less rigorous than the English and math standards, updated more recently.
    A number of slides broke down the achievement levels among ethnic and income groups, “English learners,” migrant students and students with and without disabilities.
    “Economic disadvantaged group is our biggest subgroup of all the groups we look at,” Ferrency said. She noted 35 to 40 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch, a figure that has been climbing in recent years.
    One of the district goals is to close the achievement gap among subgroups, and Ferrency said that there clearly is more work to do.
    She added after the meeting that seeing any subgroup fail to meet proficiency levels should be seen as a problem.
    “This is important to notice and realize it is unacceptable,” Ferrency said.
    “We want to make it better,” said School Superintendent Mary Wegner. “It’s important that we’re not just noticing it, but continuing to do better.”
    Ferrency and Wegner said some areas are not tested, but are still a priority in the district.
    “I also believe not everything important can be measured,” Ferrency told the board.
    One of the top goals is to “improve the positive response rates on the School Climate and Connectedness Survey in the areas of respectful climate, school safety and student and parent involvement.”
    “How do we create an environment where all students feel welcome and contribute and have a voice?” Wegner said. “It will be exciting to see this over time.”
    The test results can be viewed by a Google search for “PEAKS results sitka,” which goes directly to the relevant page on the Alaska Department Education website.