Posted on: Friday, August 20, 2004
Public-school students improve test scores
| • | Hawai'i content and performance standards |
| • | Stanford Achievement Test |
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
Hawai'i public-school students made important gains in math and reading last school year, reversing poor test scores from the year before and inching closer toward reaching the state's academic standards.
Students in the third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades who took the Hawai'i State Assessment last spring scored higher on the tests than students the year before in both subjects. Specifically, students in third, fifth and 10th grades made substantial progress in reading, while eighth-graders jumped in math.
On the Stanford Achievement Test, a national math and reading exam given along with the state tests, students in the third and fifth grades were above or close to national benchmarks while eighth- and 10th-graders were below.
The marks on the national tests give teachers and parents some guidance on how achievement here compares to the Mainland.
But the state tests, given now for the past three school years, are the key indicator the state Department of Education uses to measure student progress.
"Our teachers and students are beginning to benefit from standards-based learning," state schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto said yesterday. "Although we have a long journey before us, we are heading in the right direction and picking up speed."
None of the grades tested, for example, had a majority of students who met or exceeded the state's proficiency standards, a clear challenge for teachers in the years ahead.
Math scores also continue to lag, especially in the upper grades. Only 20 percent of eighth-graders and 19.4 percent of 10th-graders met or exceeded the math standards, a better performance than the year before, but little improvement over the first test, given in 2002.
Educators said, however, that a large chunk of students are approaching proficiency, and the good results might give both students and teachers the incentive to reach higher.
The results pleased educators who were disappointed when all but third-grade math scores fell on the state tests for the 2002-2003 school year. But the real question remains whether the scores are high enough for more schools to meet their targets under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which requires schools to make annual progress toward having all students proficient in core subjects by 2014.
Sixty percent of Hawai'i schools did not meet their goals in the 2002-03 school year, and educators are using the scores released yesterday to calculate whether schools raised the bar last school year. While the initial results are positive, schools will ultimately be judged by whether they satisfy the law's demand that all students, including low-income and special-education students and those still learning English, reach their goals.
Schools that falter may have to offer students tutoring or the option of transferring to another school, while schools that have fallen short for years face restructuring. The DOE sent intervention teams into 25 schools last school year that are on the brink of more severe sanctions, and these schools may have the most riding on the results.
At Waimanalo Elementary & Intermediate School, one of the schools targeted by the DOE, overall test scores are up after a renewed commitment to reading and a focus on connecting lesson plans to the state's math and reading standards. Students at three grade levels at Waimanalo were tested, increasing the chances that some students may not have kept pace.
"The odds are higher that one of our grade levels may not make it," said Susan Hummel, the school's principal. "We're sort of on pins and needles."
The results may bring some confidence to a department that has spent much of the past year facing criticism from Gov. Linda Lingle and Republicans in the state Legislature that it is too large and bureaucratic to make the changes necessary to improve student achievement.
Lingle still wants to break the DOE into seven districts with locally elected school boards, but the latest test results could give educators some breathing room as they concentrate on fulfilling a new student spending formula and new school community councils that Democrats pushed through the Legislature this year.
"I'm really encouraged," said Breene Harimoto, chairman of the state Board of Education, which heard the results at a meeting yesterday. "I would hope that people understand that change doesn't happen overnight."
But Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), said small improvements in test scores do not address the deeper structural problems of the statewide school system. "These small variances don't amount to the type of change this system needs," he said.
Educators also caution against drawing too many conclusions from test scores, which are a snapshot of performance, not a full reflection of student achievement. Under federal law, the state will eventually have to test all students in third through eighth grades and in the 10th grade, which will provide more data to track student performance over time.
Hawai'i educators, and educators in several other states, also say No Child Left Behind should be amended so that schools that make gains but still fall short of the law's expectations are not punished.
"Any time test scores go up it is wonderful," said Roger Takabayashi, the president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. "It shows that things are improving. But we all have to be careful about what we do with this."
Selvin Chin-Chance, who oversees testing at the DOE, said schools have apparently paid more attention to the state's academic standards and have convinced students of the importance of the tests, even though the scores do not influence student grades.
"The schools have made a concerted effort so that the students are more highly motivated to take the tests," Chin-Chance said.
Troy Hashimoto, the student member of the school board, said many students don't take the tests seriously and are still unfamiliar with the format, which requires more writing and critical thinking than traditional multiple-choice tests.
"I took this test and it is hard. It's really hard," said Hashimoto, a senior at King Kekaulike High School on Maui.
At Wahiawa Elementary School, another of the schools targeted for improvement by the DOE, principal Denise Arai said third-grade math and fifth-grade reading scores went up, giving the staff some feedback about what works at their school.
"The teachers have definitely been encouraged," said Arai, who will wait until she finds out if the school made its No Child Left Behind goals before judging how it performed.
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
