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EDUCATION Schools struggled with more rigorous tests, but three local districts scored above state average Some schools struggled with more rigorous tests, but three districts scored above state average Comment Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 5:32 PM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 5:32 PM » Social News While many local districts fared worse last spring on state assessments than they had the previous year, the Medford, Central Point and Ashland school districts scored above state averages in at least one subject. Medford boasted a 4.9 percentage point increase in English language arts (ELA), a 2.5 percentage point increase in math and a 2 percentage point increase in science. The district also exceeded state averages in ELA and science, while Ashland exceeded state averages in all three subjects and Central Point exceeded them in science. “I am very impressed by how seriously our students and staff took this, and it’s showing in their achievement,” said Medford’s chief academic officer, Michelle Zundel. In 2014, the state replaced the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) with the Smarter Balanced ELA and math assessments, which are online, much more rigorous and require more problem-solving skills. Oregon Department of Education is in the process of developing a new science test aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, but in the meantime, schools will continue using the OAKS science test. The Smarter Balanced assessments, which are offered every spring to third- through eighth-grade and 11th-grade students, are graded on a scale of 1 to 4. Students who score a 3 or 4 on the assessments are considered on track for their grade and to graduate from high school college- and career-ready. The science assessment is only offered to students in the fifth, eighth and 11th grades. Students statewide showed progress in ELA and math, according to results released by ODE Thursday. Statewide, 55 percent of students — compared to 54 percent in 2014-15 — scored a 3 or higher on the ELA assessments, while 42 percent of students — compared with 41 percent in 2014-15 — scored a 3 or higher on math assessments. At the local level, 51.6 percent of Medford students, 74.5 percent of Ashland students, 47 percent of Phoenix-Talent students, 52.2 percent of Central Point students, and 41.7 percent of Eagle Point and Rogue River students were meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards in ELA. And 39.7 percent of Medford students, 62.4 percent of Ashland students, 28.7 percent of Phoenix-Talent students, 38.3 percent of Central Point students, 23.8 percent of Eagle Point students and 23.1 percent of Rogue River students were meeting or exceeding grade level standards in math. Not only did the Eagle Point, Rogue River and Phoenix-Talent school districts fall short of state averages in all three subjects, but the percentage of Eagle Point and Phoenix-Talent students considered on track for their grade dropped by at least 2.6 percentage points in all three subjects from their 2014-15 scores. Rogue River’s scores in math, Ashland’s scores in math and science and Central Point’s scores in ELA and math also declined. Tiffanie Lambert, Eagle Point's director of school improvement, said math will be a major focus for the district this school year. The district recently adopted new K-12 math curriculum that is much more rigorous and better aligned with the Common Core State Standards, she said. The district also received a $99,000 state grant to pilot an adaptive math software program, which personalizes math interventions for students, in three classrooms at Table Rock Elementary, Eagle Rock Elementary, Hillside Elementary, Eagle Point Middle School and White Mountain Middle School. “We’re not forgetting about English language arts,” she said. “Our administrators and instructional coaches will be focusing on revisiting best practices for English language arts … and will work beside each teacher to provide ongoing professional development.” While the results were somewhat disappointing for the district, Lambert said she was happy to see Eagle Point had the highest participation rate of any local district. Central Point Superintendent Samantha Steele said the state tests are just one indicator of student performance. "I don't want my teachers to worry about test scores," she said. "We pay attention to test scores, but we're not invested in test preparation. Parents want more for their students than test prep, and we do, too." In Medford, administrators celebrated a 19.6 percentage point gain in ELA and 14.4 percentage point gain in math at South Medford High School, as well as an 11.4 percentage point gain in ELA, a 9 percentage point gain in math and a 34.6 percentage point gain in science at Jefferson Elementary. Many other schools’ scores also surpassed last year’s test scores. Zundel said the students’ success this year is owed, in part, to ELA curriculum that is better aligned with state standards, teacher collaboration and targeted interventions, including extended-year programs. “But the greatest contributor to the growth of Medford students is the hard work of our students and our educators,” she said. While Medford fourth-graders’ scores dropped in ELA and math, every other grade saw an increase of between 0.3 and 11.9 percentage points. Nine of Medford’s 23 schools saw a drop in math scores and six saw a drop in ELA scores. (Abraham Lincoln, Oak Grove and Washington elementary schools, as well as Kids Unlimited Academy and Madrone Trail Public Charter School, saw a drop in both subjects.) Zundel said the district will send an individual student report to every family, and teachers also will receive data for their class and will use it to try to make sense of the gains and losses in some of the grades and schools. Medford schools Superintendent Brian Shumate said district staff and professional learning communities will look at all the data on a student-by-student basis to make sure content is aligned and will evaluate instructional practices across grade levels to better understand where to allocate resources and provide interventions. “We want to be fair in our analysis and look at all parts that make up our assessments scores," he said. “But we are certainly proud of our results overall.” Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Sep. 8, 2016 at 5:32 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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