By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
This is the third in a series of three articles taking an in-depth look at the annual Benchmark scores.
About seven out of 10 seventh graders were proficient or better on the math and literacy portion of the annual Benchmark exam.
When it came to eighth graders, it was closer to six out of 10.
Cabot junior high students scored higher than the state average in both grades, as did students at Beebe, Searcy and Jacksonville Lighthouse middle schools.
Students at Lonoke and the Flightline Upper Academy also did well.
Jacksonville Lighthouse and Searcy eighth graders had the highest score in the area with an 85 proficiency rate in literacy. Searcy seventh graders, Cabot Junior High North seventh graders and Cabot Junior High South eighth graders were at 84 percent in literacy.
Commenting on the good scores, Cabot Superintendent Tony Thurman said, “It goes back to the people in the classroom. Our teachers are going above and beyond.”
The top math score in the area went to Flightline Upper Academy seventh graders with an 81 percent proficiency rate, followed by Cabot Junior High School South at 79 percent.
Evan McGrew, principal at the Flight-line Upper Academy, also gave the credit to the teachers for his school’s good scores. “We have a very experienced core of teachers that look at every student individually. They don’t accept failure.”
At Jacksonville Middle School, only about four out of 10 students scored proficient or better. The school’s eighth graders were the worst in the Pulaski County Special School District with only 28 percent scoring proficient or advanced in math. Almost 40 percent of the students scored below basic in literacy.
Like Jacksonville, neither the seventh nor the eighth graders in England reached the state average.
The annual exam is given to students, third through eighth grade, to determine how well they know grade- level material. The state wants all students to be proficient or advanced.
Here’s how area seventh and eighth graders did on the math and literacy portions of the 2014 Benchmark exams:
SEVENTH GRADE
Statewide, 35,900 students took the test, and 69 percent were proficient or better in math while 77 percent did the same in literacy.
Beebe students scored 73 percent proficient or better in math and jumped up to 83 percent in literacy.
In Searcy, the seventh graders were 78 percent proficient or advanced in math and had a proficiency rate of 84 percent in literacy.
Lonoke students were 68 percent proficient or better in math, and 76 percent did likewise in literacy. England had a 48 percent proficiency rate in math and did a little better at 50 percent in literacy. In Carlisle, 59 percent made the cut in math, and 75 percent did so in literacy.
Cabot Junior High North students were 70 percent proficient or advanced in math, and 84 percent were proficient or better in literacy. Students at Cabot Junior High South were at 79 percent proficient or better in math, and 82 percent made the grade in literacy.
In PCSSD, seventh graders were 53 percent proficient in math and at 67 percent in literacy. Jacksonville Middle School students were only 38 percent proficient or better in math and at 51 percent in literacy.
Sylvan Hills Middle School had 60 percent make the cut in math, and 72 percent did the same in literacy. Northwood had 45 percent of its seventh graders score proficient or advanced in math, and 68 percent did likewise in literacy.
Lisa Academy North students were 69 percent proficient or better in math and 76 percent proficient or advanced in literacy. Jacksonville Lighthouse Middle School had a 75 percent proficiency rate in math and moved up to 79 percent in literacy. Students at the Flightline Upper Academy were 81 percent proficient or better in math, and 75 percent did the same in literacy.
EIGHTH GRADE
At the state level, 35,600 students took the test, and 63 percent scored proficient or advanced in math while 67 percent scored proficient or better in literacy.
Beebe students scored 66 percent or better in math, and 80 percent did the same in literacy.
Ahlf Junior High students in Searcy were 74 percent proficient or better in math, and 85 percent made the grade in literacy.
Lonoke had a proficiency rate of 66 percent in math and 77 percent in literacy. England students scored 35 percent proficient or better in math, and 57 percent did likewise in literacy. In Carlisle, 55 percent of the eighth graders scored proficient or better in math, and 77 percent did so in literacy.
Cabot Junior High North students were 74 percent proficient or advanced in math and 81 percent proficient or better in literacy.
Students at Cabot Junior High South had a proficiency rate of 76 percent in math, and 84 percent did the same in literacy. Cabot’s Academic Center for Excellence had 59 percent of its students make the cut in math, and 83 percent did the same in literacy.
PCSSD students were 52 percent proficient or better in math, and 70 percent did likewise in literacy.
Jacksonville Middle School was 28 percent proficient or advanced in math, and 51 percent made the grade in literacy.
Sylvan Hills had a proficiency rate of 58 percent in math and 75 percent in literacy. Northwood had 57 percent of its students score proficient or better in math, and 72 percent did the same in literacy.
Lisa Academy North had 68 percent make the cut in math, and 74 percent did likewise in literacy. At Jackson-ville Lighthouse Middle School, 65 percent of its students scored proficient or better in math while 85 percent did the same in literacy. At the Flightline Upper Academy, 70 percent made the cut in math, and 74 percent did likewise in literacy.
