By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Almost across the board, area middle school students did well on the English portion of the annual state ACT Aspire test, but were unable to carry over that success to the reading and writing portions, showing about a 20 point or more difference.
At Cabot Junior High, 81 percent of the seventh graders met or exceeded goals in English, but only 35 percent did the same in writing. Sylvan Hills had 76 percent of its students do well on the English section, but only 27 percent did the same in writing.
In Jacksonville, the eighth graders were 60 percent meeting or exceeding goals in English, but just at 21 percent in writing. Jacksonville Lighthouse’s College Prep Academy had 70 percent of its eighth graders do well in English, but just 19 percent in writing.
“Jacksonville Middle School showed a 4 percent gain in the percentage of students who were ready or exceeding in eighth grade reading, a 3 percent increase in seventh grade math and a 6 percent increase in eighth grade math,” said Dr. Tiffany Bone, one of two assistant superintendents for the Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District.
“We are encouraged by the fact that although the scores are not where we would like them to be yet, there were multiple areas in which the percentage of students who were classified as ready or exceeding increased from the 2016 school year,” Bone said.
“Our goal is to continue to work together as a team to put systems in place that support the needs of every scholar, every day,” she continued.
Beebe Superintendent Belinda Shook said, “We want all students to celebrate how they are growing and improving instead of just focusing on the proficiency level of the whole group of students.”
“I looked at our scores and broke them down into four categories: Above the state and improved, be-low the state and improved, above the state with a decrease and below the state with a decrease,” she said.
“Of the 20 scores I compared, in grades 6-10, Beebe improved in 17 areas and scored above the state in 14 areas. The areas we decreased in were very small and from sixth grade — eighth grade, writing is a definite area for improvement. However, improvement was shown in writing this year in all of those grades,” Shook said.
Cabot’s top school leader, Dr. Tony Thurman said, “We are proud of this progress, yet recognize that there is still work to be done. We will strive to not only maintain these improvements, but build on them this academic year.”
“At the middle grades, the district saw significant increases in the percent of students at the College and Career Ready level in the following areas: 6th grade - Reading (+11) and Writing (+20); 7th grade - Reading (+9), Writing (+9) and Math (+10); and 8th grade - Reading (+16), Writing (+23), and Math (+22),” Thurman said.
JACKSONVILLE
Sixth graders were 50 percent proficient in English, but then dropped to 34 percent in math, 20 percent in science, 23 percent in reading and 32 percent met or exceeded goals in writing.
Seventh grade had 61 percent of its students meet or exceed goals in English, 22 percent in math, 16 percent in science, 14 percent in reading and just 20 percent made the cut in writing. At the eighth-grade level, 60 percent of the students met or exceed goals in English, but it dropped to 19 percent in math and science, 30 percent in reading and 21 percent in writing.
CABOT
Sixth graders at Cabot Middle School South were at 79 percent meeting or exceeding their English goals, 73 percent in math, 54 percent in science, 61 percent in reading and 62 percent in writing. At Cabot Middle School North, 77 percent of the sixth graders made the cut in English, 62 percent in math, 50 percent in science, 48 percent in reading and 50 percent in writing.
At Cabot Junior High South, 81 percent of the seventh graders met or exceeded goals in English, 58 percent in math, 49 percent in science, 45 percent in reading and only 35 percent in writing. The eighth graders had 80 percent make the grade in English, 59 percent in math, 55 percent in science, 67 percent in reading and 60 percent in writing.
At Cabot Junior High North, 88 percent of the sixth graders did well in English, 69 percent in math, 51 percent in science, 52 percent in reading and 45 percent in writing. At the eighth-grade level, 83 percent met or exceeded goals in English, 68 percent in math, 51 percent in science, 67 percent in reading, but fell to 40 percent in writing.
SHERWOOD
At Sylvan Hills Middle School, 70 percent of the sixth graders made the cut in English, 53 percent in math, 39 percent in science, 41 percent in reading and 46 percent in writing. Seventh grade had 76 percent of its students meet or exceed goals in English, 44 percent in math, 39 percent in science, 33 percent in reading and 27 percent made the cut in writing. Among eighth-graders, 70 percent did well in English, 28 percent in math, 32 percent in science, 46 percent in reading and 25 percent in writing.
LIGHTHOUSE
Sixth graders at Jackson-ville Lighthouse Charter School had 75 percent of its sixth graders meet or exceed goals in English, 45 percent in math, 41 percent in science, 45 percent in reading and 55 percent in writing. At the seventh-grade level at the College Academy, 65 percent did well in English, 33 percent in math, 37 percent in science, 19 percent in reading and only 21 percent in writing.
At the Lighthouse’s Flight-line Academy, sixth graders were 77 proficient at English, 64 percent at math, 46 percent at science, 41 percent at reading and 66 percent at writing. Among seventh graders, 74 percent did well in English, 50 percent in math and science, 41 percent in reading and 36 percent in writing. The eighth-grade had 85 percent of its students meet or exceed goals in English, 44 percent in math, 58 percent in science, 52 percent in reading and 44 percent in writing.
LISA ACADEMY
Lisa Academy North sixth-grade students were 75 proficient in English, 71 percent in math, 53 percent in science, 49 percent in reading and 47 percent in writing. At the seventh grade level, 81 percent made the cut in English, 70 percent in math, 46 percent in science, 49 percent in reading and 35 percent in writing. Among eighth graders, 75 percent met or exceeded goals in English, 65 percent in math, 50 percent in science and reading and 45 percent in writing.
LONOKE
At the sixth-grade level, 77 percent of the students made the cut in English, 55 percent in math, 43 percent in science, 45 percent in reading and 55 percent in writing. Among seventh graders, 82 percent met or exceeded goals in English, 45 percent in math, 36 percent in science, 29 percent in reading and 34 percent in writing. Eighth grade saw 80 percent of its students make the grade in English, 32 percent in math, 40 percent in science, 47 percent in reading and 15 percent in writing.
BEEBE
Sixth grade had 74 percent of its students meet or exceed goals in English, 73 percent in math, 50 percent in science, 49 percent in reading and 59 percent in writing. Among seventh graders, 77 percent made the cut in English, 54 percent in math, 44 percent in science, 39 percent in reading and 30 percent in writing. The eighth graders had 80 percent do well in English, 67 percent in math, 53 percent in science, 58 percent in reading and 36 percent in writing.
ENGLAND
Among sixth graders, 85 percent made the cut in English, 76 percent in math, 40 percent in science, 45 percent in reading and 26 percent in writing. Seventh grade had 70 percent of its students meet or exceed goals in English, 45 percent in math, 23 percent in science, 18 percent in reading and 30 percent in writing. At the eighth-grade level, 61 percent made the cut in English, 33 percent in math and science, 44 percent in reading and 58 percent in writing.
CARLISLE
Carlisle had 84 percent of its sixth graders meet or exceed goals in English, 76 percent in math, 52 percent in science, 42 percent in reading and 74 percent in writing. Seventh grade saw 73 percent of its students make the cut in English, 45 percent in math, 38 percent in science, 39 percent in reading and 29 percent in writing. Among eighth graders, 88 percent did well in English, but only 49 percent in math, 54 percent in science, 63 percent in reading and 40 percent in writing.