Sisters schools beat state average

The Sisters School District has again outperformed state averages and other Central Oregon school districts on state assessment tests. The results were announced in Salem on September 2 by State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo.

The state mandates tests at grades three, four, five, six, seven, eight and ten in a variety of academic areas (the results are available at http://www.ode.state.or.us).

In reading and literature, 87.2 percent of Sisters' third graders scored in the "meets or exceeds" categories. The state average was 84 percent. That high score was maintained in all grade levels up to 10th grade when the gap closes, with 71.5 percent of Sisters tenth graders meeting or exceeding the standard, as opposed to about 65 percent of the state as a whole.

In math, 81.4 percent of Sisters in third grade were in the "meets or exceeds" grouping, as opposed to 77.1 percent for the state. The difference climbed to 88.5 percent for Sisters versus 76.8 percent for the state in grade five. In grade six it drops, with 78.8 percent in meets or exceeds as opposed to 70.3 percent for the state. 

In grades seven and eight Sisters again scores over 80 percent, but tenth graders again fall, scoring on 53.4 percent in the "meets or exceeds" categories, versus 52.2 percent for the state as a whole.

Why is there such a significant drop as students get older?

"That has been addressed many times," said Sisters Schools Superintendent Elaine Drakulich. "Some believe the test is proportionally more difficult in tenth year. (In the past) the state looked at grades three, five, eight and ten and came back with recommended changes. The cutoff number was lowered. So the initial critique was that the test was too hard at 10th-grade level. 

"My projection is that the next time they renorm, they will lower it again. But it is a federal mandate, and must go through a national review panel to make sure you are not lower than other states," said Drakulich.

"Then there are people who say the math requirement of algebra and geometry are simply too high. But the federal government will show schools with a high percentage of poverty and special-ed students which are meeting the higher standards. So that might be a tough sell."

In Sisters, Drakulich said the goal was to use the data to target areas where the schools may apply more effort to improve, either with curriculum or in assisting specific students.

"This is one piece of specific data to use for conversations about instruction. (We have) teams that meet every Wednesday. That is one piece of data on how students are doing... If they did well, what are we doing that made that difference? If we are not doing well, what should we be doing differently?"

For example, Drakulich said if math students did not score well on fractions or graphing, teachers can look at the standard and compare "what the state says we need to teach and what we are teaching."

This is not "teaching to the test," or simply helping students pass the state assessment, says Drakulich.

"The state has specific standards that describe what kids need to know to meet state and federal benchmarks. We design what we are going to teach to meet those standards. We are not 'teaching to the test,' but teaching so that kids know that material (that the state says they must know)."

If the state tests show a weakness, "we go back and look at this unit, this unit and this unit. Did we leave something out, or are not matching what we teach (to what the state says we should teach) well. We (look again) at how we are teaching it," she said.

"We are not teaching to the test, but teaching the concept that is going be assessed," she said.

One of the difficulties in comparing the state standards to Sisters is that many of the subgroups are so small in Sisters that a single student can skew the results. For example, in the tenth grade, there are 10 students identified as special ed. One special-ed student exceeded the state standard in math, which meant that 10 percent of the special-ed students did so. One can question if conclusions can be drawn from the experience of one student.  

But even though it may not be statistically significant, Drakulich suggested that applying techniques that might assist the other nine students would have benefit for the entire student population.

"I think this is a (good use of our resources) because the instruction techniques required to move students to the standards makes us stronger in those techniques, and the better teachers we are in general."

Individual test results are also available to teachers, and to parents and students. The information can be used to identify where a student may be weak relative to state standards, and point to a direction for individual improvement.

 "Even students scoring well are individuals," said Drakulich. "This helps us identify where they are struggling and have a better approach to teaching them."

While Sisters scored well relative to the state and other Central Oregon schools, when compared to one of the best districts in the Willamette Valley, Lake Oswego, Sisters results would probably rate a "B" if graded on a curve.

Superintendent Drakulich has set higher standards for achievement by Sisters schools. At the beginning of August, in a publication she titled "Annual Report," she outlined progress goals for each school. She set targets of 92 percent meeting or exceeding state standards in reading at the elementary school, 89 percent at the middle school, and 80 percent at the high school. 

In math, the improvement targets are nearly as aggressive, when compared to current performance, with 92 percent meeting or exceeding at the elementary school, 87 percent at the middle school, and 62 percent at the high school.

"While test scores will not in themselves define a quality education, those scores used in conjunction with other measures of performance and social acculturation can give us some confidence in our students academic and social preparation.  Our challenge, while simply stated, is a complex one: to provide differentiated and supplemental instruction for students who need it," Drakulich wrote.