By Rick Kron
Leader staff writer
The third-graders at Sidney Deener Elementary in Searcy were nearly perfect on the math portion of this year’s school Benchmark exams.
Not far behind were the third- graders from Beebe Elementary and Searcy’s Westside Elementary.
Searcy’s fifth- and sixth-graders also made a strong showing, surpassing the state average by double figures.
Looking at scores from Beebe, Carlisle, Lonoke and Searcy, all the Searcy scores were better than the state average and nearly all of Beebe’s students outperformed the state numbers, only the eighth-graders faltered in math and ended up with the lowest-percentage score of the four districts.
Lonoke and Carlisle had a mix of good and not-so-good scores.
The Benchmark exams are given statewide every April as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Students can receive one of four grades on the math and literacy portions of the test: advanced, proficient, basic and below basic. All students are supposed to be proficient or advanced, meaning they can handle grade-level work, by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
Statewide, 85 percent of the third-graders are where they are supposed to be, proficient or advanced in math and 76 percent are at the same level in literacy. In fourth grade, 82 percent made the cut in both math and literacy, and among fifth-graders, 78 percent scored well in math and 77 percent in literacy.
In sixth-grade statewide, 77 percent scored proficient or advanced in math and 71 percent did as well in literacy. At the seventh-grade level, 74 percent made the cut in math and 67 percent did so in literacy. In eighth grade, 63 percent scored well in math and 77 percent made the grade in literacy.
Beebe
At Badger Elementary, 92 percent of the third-graders scored proficient or advanced in math and 86 percent made the cut in literacy. Among fourth-graders, 89 percent did well on math and 86 percent made the cut in literacy.
At Beebe Elementary, the scores were slightly better. In third grade, 95 percent scored proficient or advanced in math and 85 percent of the students were proficient or better in literacy. In fourth grade, 88 percent of the students made the grade in math and 87 percent did so in literacy.
At Beebe Middle School, the fifth-graders outperformed the sixth-graders. At the fifth-grade level, 83 percent of the students were proficient or better and 82 percent did as well in literacy. Among the sixth-graders, 78 percent made the cut in math and 76 percent did so in literacy.
At Beebe Junior High, the seventh-graders bested the eighth-graders in math, but it was the reverse in literacy. Among the seventh-graders, 80 percent did well in math and 71 percent made the cut in literacy. In the eighth grade, it fell to 60 percent of the students making the grade in math, but went up to 85 percent in literacy.
Carlisle
The third-graders scored substantially higher than the fourth-graders in math and it was the opposite in literacy.
Overall, the weakest link appears to be the eighth-graders.
At the third-grade level, 87 percent of the students scored proficient or better in math and 72 percent did so in literacy. In fourth grade, 71 percent of the students made the grade in math and 89 percent did so in literacy.
In fifth grade, it was 68 percent making the grade in math and 84 percent doing the same in literacy.
Among sixth-graders, 75 percent did well in math and 81 percent did the same in literacy. At the seventh-grade level, 75 percent of the students made the cut in math, and 71 percent made the grade in literacy.
In eighth grade, the numbers fell to 66 percent scoring proficient or better in math and 68 percent did well in literacy.
Lonoke
Lonoke followed the state trend with math starting strong and then fading, while literacy got stronger as the scores moved from third to eighth grade.
In third grade, 88 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced in math and 67 percent were proficient or better in literacy. Among fourth-graders, 82 percent did well in math and 77 percent did the same in literacy.
At the fifth-grade level, 79 percent made the grade in math and 78 percent made the cut in literacy. In sixth grade, 82 percent scored well in math and 79 percent made the cut in literacy.
In the seventh grade, 84 percent scored proficient or better in math and 76 percent did so in literacy. Among eighth-graders, 70 percent made the grade in math and 83 percent did so in literacy.
Searcy
Sidney Deener Elementary did the best among Searcy’s elementary schools. Students at Southwest Middle School put in a strong performance in both math and literacy.
At Sidney Deener, 97 percent of the third-graders were proficient or advanced in math and 87 percent in literacy. In fourth grade, 90 percent made the cut in math and 84 percent made the grade in literacy.
At McRae Elementary, 87 percent of the third-graders did well in math and 75 percent of them made the cut in literacy. Among the fourth-graders, 75 percent made the cut in math and 81 percent were proficient or better in literacy.
Among the third-graders at Westside Elementary, 93 percent were proficient or advanced in math and 88 percent did well in literacy. In fourth grade, 87 percent made the cut in math and 89 percent made the grade in literacy.
At Southwest Middle School, 90 percent of the fifth-graders scored proficient or better in math and the same number, 90 percent, did so in literacy. In sixth grade, again it was 90 percent making the cut in math and 91 percent did well in literacy.
Among the seventh-graders at Ahlf Junior High, 87 percent did well in math and 83 percent made the cut in literacy. In the eighth grade, 78 percent made the grade in math and 90 percent made the cut in literacy.
(This is the last in a series of four articles on Benchmark test results in area schools.)
