For
the second consecutive year, Puyallup School District students
outperformed the state average in every subject and at every grade level
on state tests administered last spring.
The
scores released this fall also showed that students made gains in many
of the core academic subjects — math, science, reading, and writing —
compared to the previous year.
For
most elementary and junior high students, last spring marks the final
time they will have taken the Measurement of Student Progress (MSP) in
math, reading, and writing.
The MSP is being replaced by a new “Smarter Balanced” assessment, which was tested last spring in 11 Puyallup schools.
The
new assessment will be tested again this spring in every junior high
school and all but two (Firgrove and Spinning) elementary schools.
Glenn
Malone, executive director of assessment, accountability, and student
success, discussed at a recent school board meeting how the state is
preparing to usher in the new era of Smarter Balanced testing.
He also shared with the board the good news about the 2013 state assessments.
The
student performance is indicative, Malone said, of the continued hard
work that staff, parents, school volunteers, and community have been
doing to help students succeed.
Math improvement
While
math scores remained relatively neutral across the district compared to
the math achievements both districtwide and at individual schools.
Throughout the district, sixth graders scored significantly higher than
the state average in math. Test scores released by the state this fall
show that 74 percent of sixth graders in Puyallup met or exceeded state
standards in math compared to 59 percent statewide.
The
gain last year coincides with new math materials given to teachers last
fall to supplement and reinforce concepts in the district-adopted math
curriculum.
Third
graders at Fruitland Elementary School also had a strong showing on the
state test with 93.6 percent of students meeting or exceeding state
math standards — the highest math score in the district and an increase
of three percentage points from the previous year.
Shaw Road Elementary fifth graders also topped 90 percent of students meeting the state standards in math.
Educators credit several learning tools and strategies for the successful 2013 math scores.
This
past year was the third year, for example, of a three-year district
math improvement plan and the second year that students and teachers
used the “Bridges in Mathematics” curriculum in kindergarten through
grade five.
Teachers say the math curriculum is rich with hands-on manipulatives and lessons to reinforce math learning.
At
Fruitland Elementary, Principal Laurie Orheim credits the student
success not only to her third-grade teaching team, but also to the
entire school staff, parents, and volunteers who focus on student
achievement in all grades.
Another
key to success, Fruitland Elementary teachers say, is a “Qwizdom”
computer software program used in the classroom to reinforce math
learning.
The
program engages students by providing colorful, interactive math
lessons, as well as pre- and post-tests to help measure student
progress.
During
a math lesson last month, third grade teachers Janis Sloan-Framke,
Jenifer Willis, and Cynthia Edmon used the program in their respective
classrooms to teach different math concepts.
The
three teachers and many others using IXL — an online computer math
program — to reinforce math skills. One benefit, they say, is that
students and their families can log into the IXL site at home to
practice state and national math standards.
Sloan-Framke
said the teachers also work closely as a team, regularly assess
students on their skills and knowledge, use computation tests as weekly
timed assessments, and provide small group interventions to students who
need extra help.
The
district’s intensive focus on math improvement in the past several
years is also evident in the number of tenth graders who passed
End-of-Course math exams.
Three
years ago, about 70 percent of the first group of tenth graders who
took the algebra and geometry exams met standards. This past spring, 82
percent of students met or exceeded standards on the algebra test and
nearly 90 percent in geometry.
Science gains
Students in grades five and eight scored significantly higher than the state average in science.
In
Puyallup, 74.8 percent of fifth graders met or exceeded science
standards compared to 66.5 percent statewide. Similarly, 73.2 percent of
eighth graders met or exceeded standards compared to 64.9 percent
statewide.
Fifth
graders at Woodland Elementary School also had noteworthy scores on the
state test with 91.8 percent of students meeting or exceeding state
standards — the highest science score in the district and the second
consecutive year that the school’s fifth-grade class surpassed 90
percent.
Elementary
teachers throughout the district report continued success with
integrating technology and using the district’s science kits, which
encourage hands-on learning.
During
a recent science kit lesson on living ecosystems, for example, Woodland
Elementary fifth-grade teachers Allan Cranston, Roger Smith, Dorothy
Espedal-Johnson, and Michele Bledsoe instructed students to build a
combination terrarium/aquarium using a two-liter plastic pop bottle.
Students
built the terrarium on the top half of the bottle, filling it with dirt
and planting rye grass, alfalfa, and mustard seeds. As the seeds
sprouted, students shared their observations of plant growth data aloud
as a class and then recorded the data in their science journals.
The
fifth graders filled the bottom half of the bottle with water, added
allodia, duckweed, and mixed algae plants for food, then scooped in two
mosquito fish and several snails to create the living ecosystem.
Pressing
jewelers loupes (magnifiers) against the bottles, students peered
inside their aquariums and recorded observations about the fish and
snails.
“This
is fun because you get to work with live animals and plants,” said
student Adam Tabor as he watched the mosquito fish swim about in their
new surroundings. Tabor said he is considering a career in science when
he grows up.
Smith reminded students during their observation time that the living ecosystems “represent the bigger world we live in.”
In
addition to hands-on science learning, Cranston said the Qwizdom
computer software program — just like the one used by Fruitland
Elementary teachers in math — “has made a great impact on student
learning in science.”
While
91.8 percent is a notable science score, he said the Woodland
Elementary staff won’t be satisfied until students achieve 100 percent.
Junior
high students also had a strong showing in science, with 73.2 percent
of eighth graders districtwide meeting standards — well above the state
average.
Reading and writing improvement
One
of the largest gains in reading this past year is reflected in the
scores at Karshner Elementary, where 93.2 percent of sixth graders met
or exceeded standards — up from 70.5 percent the previous year.
Principal
Arturo Gonzalez said the school implemented a schoolwide “Accelerated
Reader” (AR) program last year and recognizes students who meet or
exceed their reading goals.
The
AR program encourages students to read books and take comprehension
tests on what they have read. Points are earned for a passing score.
Some
of the reading gains can also be attributed, educators say, to a new
“Journeys” reading curriculum in grades two through six.
The
curriculum launched last year in 16 of the district’s 21 elementary
schools, expanded this fall to the remaining five schools.
“All
of our teachers from kindergarten through grade six implemented small
group reading instruction from the Journeys curriculum, and it has been
very successful,” Gonzalez said.
Other
notable achievements in reading scores were seen at Mt. View
Elementary, where nearly 98 percent of third graders met standards;
Fruitland Elementary, where 96 percent of third graders met standards;
and Woodland Elementary, where 90 percent of sixth graders met
standards.
The most recent test scores also show that writing remained strong at the high school level.
Writing,
which is tested in grade 10, continued an upward trend from previous
years of strong test score results with 91 percent of students across
the district meeting standards.
All
three comprehensive high schools topped 90 percent of students meeting
or exceeding the writing standards on last spring’s assessment.
Bob Frey, an American Studies teacher at Emerald Ridge High, said writing is a key component in his class.
“In
addition to examining great works from American literature and
addressing the English standards, the American Studies curriculum allows
students to communicate in writing while demonstrating content
knowledge in United States history,” he said.
Frey
continued, “Instead of students answering questions with multiple
choice and matching tests, I challenge my students to communicate
conceptual ideas using a variety of writing strategies.
To
see a complete breakdown of how the Puyallup School District and its 32
schools scored on last spring’s state tests, visit the state
Superintendent of Public Instruction website at www.k12.wa.us and click
the State Report Card icon. The state website also provides information
about student demographics and shows how each school fared on annual
measurement objectives. Spinning and Firgrove elementary schools have
been identified as Emerging Schools by the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) waiver accountability system