Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

First-year Glen Carbon school scores among best in Madison County

Cassens Elementary didn't just hit the ground running -- it vaulted nearly to the top.

Last year was the first year for the Glen Carbon elementary school in Edwardsville District 7. So it was the first time the school would appear on the annual school report cards. It debuted at No. 3 in Madison County, with 92.3 percent of students meeting state standards.

The report cards are the Illinois State Board of Education's annual compilation of test scores from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test and Prairie State Achievement Exam, among other statistics and evaluations. The scores reflect the percentage of students that meet the adequate yearly progress standards established by the No Child Left Behind law.

"Our biggest challenge was bringing all of the teachers together from different schools throughout the district and forming a common vision and our own culture in the school," Cassens Principal Martha Richey said. "I am extremely proud that we were able to hit the ground running and hold up to the high standards that are the absolute expectation in District 7."

The reason for Cassens' success is also the reason Superintendent Ed Hightower says the honor really belongs to the entire district: a consistent focus throughout all Edwardsville's elementary schools. The students at Cassens had only been at their new school for six months when they took the test. They came from Woodland, Glen Carbon, Columbus and other elementary schools.

"If you visit any classroom across the district, you'll see consistency in a comprehensive, research-based curriculum aligned to the state standards," Richey said. "We don't teach from textbooks. ... We don't teach the test, and we don't start preparing just a few weeks before the test."

That consistency goes beyond a single year, too. The curriculum is designed to build on each grade's material as a child moves through the grades, Richey said.

Speaking of consistency, Marine Elementary in Triad District 2 was the highest-scoring school in Madison County for the fourth year in a row with 95.9 percent.

Principal Sandra Padak said an individualized approach works best for them. Visit one of their classrooms, she said, and you'll see four to five students in a guided reading time with one teacher, while a Title I teacher works with another group and other students are working on their own projects. Those small-group sessions with an individual focus have kept their scores high, she said.

"I'm just really proud of the kids and teachers," Padak said. "They all work so very hard."

High schools' rankings have mostly remained the same, with Edwardsville at the top with 66.8 percent of students passing and Highland just under it at 66.2 percent.

In St. Clair County, Millstadt Consolidated School boosted itself from its 2008 second-place ranking to first place in 2009 with an ISAT composite of 95.2. Brown Elementary School and Jackson Math and Science Academy of East St. Louis School District 189 secured the fourth and fifth places respectively with composite scores of 92.6 and 92.4.

Statewide, about 79.1 percent of elementary students met standards on the test, and 52.5 percent of high-schoolers. But the number of schools not making adequate yearly progress has increased by more than 300, so that nearly half -- 49 percent -- are listed as not making AYP.

But State Superintendent Christopher Koch said these are not necessarily failing schools.

"Obviously many of these schools can have increases in student performance. It doesn't mean they're not improving," he said. "We're still measuring proficiency, not student learning, which is a flaw in the law and something we need to take into consideration during reauthorization."

In addition, statewide the economy is making an impact. The percentage of students listed as low-income was 36 percent in 2000, and this year is 42.9 percent. Koch said it's having "a significant impact."

"Multiple studies show a correlation between poverty and performance," he said. "When students come to school without their basic needs met, there is more stress, and it impacts performance. ... It's a continuing trend that more and more of our students in Illinois are being defined as low-income. Nothing's going to be turning that around any time soon."

In order to be defined as low-income, a student either comes from a family that qualifies for public aid, lives in an institution or foster home, or is eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch.

And that's definitely an issue for Venice Elementary, which scored the lowest in Madison County with 45.5 percent of students meeting standards. Venice has a low-income rate of 92.5 percent out of its 108 students, including 24 high school students placed elsewhere.

Venice still has been improving: in 2007 only 30.6 percent passed the test, and 40 percent last year. But it was a rough start for new Superintendent Cullen Cullen, who is the first full-time superintendent the district has had since its school board was removed by the state in 2003.

Cullen said teachers are focusing first on literacy, changing from a pull-out tutorial program to an all-out literacy focus led by a new reading specialist.

"You can't change everything at once, so we're starting with literacy because it's taught across the content areas," Cullen said. "It's needed for all learning."

Koch said parents should keep in mind their own child's scores from year to year, but to keep the scores in perspective. "They're not going to know if (their child is) improving just by looking at accountability on a state test," he said. "A lot of parents focus on different things in the report card. But I wouldn't want to look at one snapshot in time, I would want a broader picture."