By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Beebe first and second graders, along with those from Jacksonville’s Arnold Drive Elementary and four Cabot schools beat the state averages across the board on the just-released state-mandated Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
Beebe Superintendent Belinda Shook said, “We are still looking at the scores and analyzing them, but at a first glance, we were very happy with the progress we made this past year.”
The state Department of Education released the scoring information earlier this week. Four types of scores are released: Raw scores, scales scores, national percentile rankings and normal curve equivalent scores.
Out of those four, the easiest to understand is the national percentile rankings (NPR). For example, first graders at Cabot’s Magness Creek had an NPR of 70 on the English-Language Arts portion of the exam.
A score of 70 means the Magness Creek students beat 70 percent of all the first graders across the country who took the test. Inversely, 30 percent beat Magness Creek.
On the other hand, Harris Elementary first graders scored in the 12th percentile in literacy, meaning almost 90 percent of U.S. first graders beat them. That score of 12 was 37 percentage points below the state average.
Magness Creek’s 70 percent score was 21 percentage points above the state average of 49. The first-grade average on the math portion was 52 percent, meaning about half the Arkansas students scored better than others across the country and about half scored worse.
Among second graders the state NPR average on the English-Language Arts section (which includes reading) was 54 and in math it was 62.
The Cabot schools beating both the first grader and second NPR averages were Magness Creek, Mountain Springs, Northside and Eastside elementary schools.
“We are pleased with our growth on the ITBS and especially in math,” said Dr. Tony Thurman, head of the Cabot School District, adding, “We use the data to determine programming that is specific to each child during the upcoming year. ITBS scores, along with other data from the previous year, is crucial in providing teachers with an understanding of where kids are when they arrive at school on August 15th.”
Beebe’s superintendent said, “We have spent the last year trying to get better aligned to standards and I believe it is paying off. The school board developed a strategic plan that centers around raising student achievement. Last year, we created a pre-K-6 Reading Leadership Committee to study data and make curriculum decisions about our reading program.”
Shook continued, “We are restructuring much of what we are doing next year based on the recommendations from the committee. The first- and second-grade Iowa scores show an increase in every sub test, with as much as 13 and 14 points in some areas. We expect, and hope, with the emphasis on reading, the training our teachers are going through this summer, and curriculum alignment, we will continue to see our student achievements increase.”
About 3 million students, from first grade through 12th grade, take the annual test.
Here is a breakdown of the first and second grade NPR scores in English-language Arts (literacy) and math from area schools.
Scores from the ACT Aspire test, which third through eighth grade took in April, are set to be released in mid-July.
CABOT
Out of Cabot’s nine elementary schools, only Ward Central and Stagecoach failed to beat the state averages
Ward Central first graders had an NPR of 31 in literacy (18 points off the state average) and 38 in math (12 points below the state. Second graders were at 46 in literacy, six points off the state pace and a 49 in math, 13 points under the state average.
Stagecoach first graders scored in the 45th percentile in literacy and 50th in math. Seconds graders were at the 48 percentile in literacy and the 58th in math.
Beating the state averages were Eastside, Northside, Magness Creek and Mountain Springs. Eastside first graders hit the 54th percentile in literacy and 57th in math. The second graders were in the 64th and 66th percentiles, respectively.
Northside first graders hit 60 in ELA and 58 in math. The second graders were in the 64th percentile in both literacy and math.
Magness Creek first graders had the top literacy score in the newspaper’s coverage area. The second graders tied with Carlisle for the best literacy scores.
Magness Creek first grades were in the 70th percentile in literacy and 65th in math. The second graders scored in 73rd percentile in literacy and 79 percentile in math. Carlisle was top in the area, hitting the 89th percentile.
Mountain Springs first graders had the best score in math in the area, scoring in the 70th percentile. It had a 63 in literacy The second graders were at the 60th percentile in literacy and 63rd in math.
In other Cabot schools, Westside first graders beat the state, but the second graders didn’t. Westside first graders score in the 51st percentile in literacy and the 60th in math. Second graders were at 41 in literacy and 50 in math.
Central first graders were in the 32nd percentile in literacy and 34th in math. The second graders beat the state scoring in the 62nd percent in literacy and 65th in math. Southside first graders hit the 55th percentile in literacy and 49th in math.
Second graders scored in the 47th percentile in literacy and the 56th in math.
JNPSD
Arnold Drive posted the best scores among the elementary schools that are part of the new Jacksonville North Pulaski School District. Arnold Drive beat the state, both at the first grade and second grade level. First graders scored in the 50th percentile in literacy and 57th in math. The second graders jumped to the 71st percentile in literacy and 79th percentile in math.
Bayou Meto second graders outscored the state with a score of 64 in literacy and 69 in math, The first graders were at the 40th percentile in literacy and 51st percentile in math. Tolleson second graders also bested the state averages.
The second graders were in the 64th percentile in literacy and the 65th in math. First graders hit scores of 47 in literacy and 46 in math.
Pinewood first graders scored in the 35 percentile in literacy and 47th percentile in math.
The second graders were in the 32nd percentile in literacy and 51st in math.
Warren Dupree first graders landed in the 25th percentile in literacy and 26th in math. Second graders did better, hitting the 40th percentile in literacy and the 47th percentile in math.
Murrell Taylor first graders hit the 22nd percentile in literacy and 28th in math. The second graders had an NPR score of 23 in literacy and 40 in math.
PCSSD
Out of the remaining PCSSD schools, Oakbrooke Elementary turned in the best results, beating or tying the state in three-of-four categories. The first graders in literacy came close scoring in the 47th percentile, two points shy of the state. In math they tied with the sate average with a score in the 52nd percentile second graders hit the 57th percentile in literacy and the 62nd in math.
Cato Elementary first graders scored in the 30th percentile in literacy and the 39th in math.
The second graders didn’t do quite as well, scoring in the 43rd percentile in literacy and the 55th in math.
Sylvan Hills first graders hit the 37th percentile in literacy and 4oth in math. The second graders were in the 43rd percentile for literacy and the 52nd percentile in math.
Harris Elementary first graders scored at the 12th percentile in literacy and 19th percentile in math. The second graders were at the 17th percentile in literacy and 30th percentile in math.
CHARTERS
Second graders at the Jacksonville Lighthouse Academy beat the state average in math, hitting the 63rd percentile.
Those same second graders scored in the 47th percentile in literacy. First graders hit 24th in literacy and 37th percentile in math.
The Lisa Academy North first graders did well in math besting the state average by 14 points, hitting the 66th percentile. In literacy, the first graders were in the 48th percentile. Second graders scored in the 47th percentile in literacy and 58th in math.
OTHERS
Beebe first and second graders bested the state averages. In literacy the first graders were in the 53rd percentile and the second graders were at 58.
In math, the first graders were in the 62nd percentile and the second graders were in the 67th.
Carlisle second graders had the top math percentage in the area and tied for the top literacy score.
In first grade, the students were at the 38th percentile in literacy and 45th in math, while the second graders hit 73 in literacy and 89 in math.
England first grades were in the 32nd percentile in literacy and 41st in math. The second graders were in the 47th percentile in literacy, but skyrocketed to the 74th percentile in math.
Lonoke first graders were in the 36 percentile in literacy and hit the 40th in math. Second graders reached the 37th percentile in both literacy and math.
