Scores show almost 90 percent of third-graders reading at expected level

July 15, 2005
Chattanooga Times Free Press
By Beverly A. Carroll, Staff Writer

Student achievement improved for all Hamilton County students for the third straight year, and the performance gap between poor and more affluent students narrowed, according to 2005 test data released Thursday.

"These are the best test scores we’ve had, without exception," said schools Superintendent Jesse Register. "People can be confident young people are learning all over the district."

Overall, nearly 89 percent of the students who took the standardized Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program last April passed reading/language, compared to 78 percent in 2003. In math, 86 percent passed in 2005, 9 percent higher than 2003, the data showed.

Commissioner Curtis Adams, who has criticized the school administration, said he is pleased the district is making progress but said the scores will not translate into more funds for schools.

"Why would it support them getting more money?" he asked. "If they are doing that well without it, would it mean they would do better with more?"

According to the test data, 89.1 percent of third-graders are reading at or above grade level, less than a percent below the goal set by County Mayor Claude Ramsey as part of his Education Summit.

Literacy is one of the major indicators of academic success, said Vivian Woods, principal of Snow Hill Elementary School.

"Our number one goal is to achieve high levels of literacy," she said. "We should celebrate this and look forward to greater things."

While proud of the district’s performance, Dr. Register said in some subject areas, such as math for special education students, more work is required.

Fifty-six percent of special education students scored proficient or better in math. In language and reading, 71 percent passed.

Dr. Register credited the use of private and federal funds to provide teacher training and increase the number of teachers for the improved scores.

The district has received $5 million from the Benwood Foundation for reading improvement programs in elementary schools and $8 million from the Carnegie Corp. of New York for high school reform. The Public Education Foundation administered the grants and provided $8 million as well.

"We’ve used those funds to build capacity in each (school) building," Dr. Register said. "But if we had adequate resources, how much higher could we go?"

Critics of the school’s allocation of funds have said the district focuses too much money on inner city, lower performing schools at the expense of the suburban schools. However, the suburban schools continue to outperform all other school groups, according to the data.

For example, 92 percent of students in suburban schools passed reading/language arts and 90 percent passed math. In urban schools, 80 percent of students passed reading and 77 percent passed math.

Scores are harder to bring up in low performing schools, said Susan Swanson, director of urban elementary education. Education research shows that at-risk students require more resources to reduce the achievement gap.

"Urban schools are so far behind that if (students) learn at the same pace, they won’t catch up," she said. "We have used our partnerships with private foundations and our federal dollars to accelerate learning."

Phil Ashworth, testing data coordinator for the school system, said some of the gains result from teachers knowing how to use the test data to improve their instruction.

"Data is being used as a road map for current students," he said.

PASSING GRADES
A student who scores "proficient" or "advanced" has met or exceeded standards set by the state for each grade and subject.