• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

FWCS Below State Average on Science Test: 42 Percent in Seventh Grade Passed Inaugural ISTEP+.

Posted on: Thursday, 30 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Sheena Dooley, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Mar. 30--Only 42 percent of Fort Wayne Community Schools' seventh-graders passed Indiana's standardized science test, making it the only school district in Allen County to fall below the state average. Statewide, 52 percent of seventh-graders passed the science portion of the ISTEP+ they took in September, according to results released Tuesday by the Indiana Department of Education. East Allen County Schools' scores matched the state average, while those from Southwest and Northwest Allen County schools far exceeded it, at 73 and 78 percent, respectively. This was the first year the state required all seventh-graders to take the science test. "Urban districts typically have scores that are lower than the state average," said John Kline, FWCS' director of school improvement. "It's up to us to see what we can do to raise those numbers over the next couple of years." The state released English and math scores on the ISTEP+ for grades 3-10 in December. The seventh-grade science scores took longer to compile because state officials had to set the standards that determined whether students' scores met muster. These scores serve as a baseline, which means educators will use them to better align what they teach to what is tested, Kline said. Among local districts, Geyer Middle School did the poorest, with only 17 percent of students posting passing scores. Students at FWCS' Miami Middle School and EACS' Prince Chapman Academy also struggled, with only 29 and 23 percent, respectively, passing. Kline attributed the lower scores at Geyer and Miami to their large numbers of students from low-income families. "Those kids may have learned a lot of science (at school)," Kline said. "But if it wasn't the science that was on the test, the chances are they aren't going to do as well. They may not have many opportunities to learn science outside of the school day." EACS Superintendent Kay Novotny partly attributed the low scores at Prince Chapman to the same thing, but said the largest reason stemmed from a past emphasis on reading and math. A majority of Prince Chapman's students come from Meadowbrook, Village and Southwick elementary schools, also the district's three Title I schools. They qualify for federal assistance because of their high numbers of low-income students and are required to do an assessment of students' needs, Novotny said. "Those needs-assessments would support we need to work in those two areas (reading and math)," Novotny said. "Now that the state is being very specific in other content areas, we will have to take a closer look at those." Scores at Maple Creek and Carroll middle schools, both in NACS, were the highest in the county. At Maple Creek, 80 percent of seventh-graders passed the test, while 78 percent at Carroll did.

Parochial schools Statewide, parochial school seventh-graders, for the most part, scored higher than their public school counterparts. Locally, 72 percent of students at schools in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend passed the science portion of the ISTEP+. Statewide, the Lutheran Schools of Indiana had a 76 percent passing rate. Emmanuel St. Michael and Woodburn Lutheran students scored the highest locally, with 94 and 92 percent passing, respectively. Benoit Academy posted the lowest scores among area parochial schools, with 29 percent of its students passing. ------------ Corporation/ School Name Total % Students who are Pass+ or Pass Science Diocese of Fort Wayne 72% Benoit Academy 29% Huntington Catholic School 79% Most Precious Blood School 81% Queen of Angels School 47% St. Aloysius Catholic School 67% St. Charles Borromeo School 67% St. John the Baptist School 80% St. John the Baptist School-New Haven 78% St. Joseph-Hessen Cassel 70% St. Joseph-St. Elizabeth School 61% St. Joseph-Monroeville *** St. Jude Elementary School 71% St. Louis Besancon Catholic School *** St. Therese School 83% St. Vincent DePaul School 75% Lutheran Schools of Indiana 76% Ascension Lutheran School 83% Bethlehem Lutheran School 46% Central Lutheran School 57% Concordia Lutheran School 72% Emmanuel St. Michael Lutheran School 94% Emmaus Lutheran School *** Holy Cross Lutheran School 89% St. John Lutheran School 60% St. Peter Lutheran School 60% Suburban Bethlehem Lutheran School 77% Unity Lutheran School 65% Woodburn Lutheran School 92% Blackhawk Christian 76% Keystone Schools 83% Public schools Corporation/ School Name Total % Students who are Pass+ or Pass Science Indiana 52% Southwest Allen County Schools 73% Summit Middle School 72% Woodside Middle School 74% Northwest Allen County Schools 78% Carroll Middle School 77% Maple Creek Middle School 80% Fort Wayne Community Schools 40% Geyer Middle School 17% Blackhawk Middle School 47% Jefferson Middle School 39% Kekionga Middle School 31% Lakeside Middle School 36% Lane Middle School 42% Memorial Park Middle School 57% Miami Middle School 29% Northwood Middle School 31% Portage Middle School 38% Shawnee Middle School 54% East Allen County Schools 52% Heritage Junior-Senior High 52% Leo Junior-Senior High 71% New Haven Middle School 53% Prince Chapman 23% Woodlan Junior-Senior High 65% ------------ How can schools do better at improving students' ISTEP+ scores? Sound off at www.news-sentinel.com. [http://www.news-sentinel.com.]

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.)

More News in this Category