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Millard schools seek to narrow gap in test scores

Mr Roger K. Olsson | 07.08.2007 09:52 | Analysis | Other Press | Technology | London | World

Giuen Media



Tuesday, August 07, 2007


Aug. 7, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
The Millard school district is flush with top-achieving students, but it, too, has an achievement gap.

New standardized test scores show that Millard students continue to score well -- generally better than three-fourths of their peers nationally.

But even in the highly regarded suburban district, that top performance does not apply to many poor and minority students.

In the latest release of the district's Terra Nova test scores, black and Latino students lagged behind whites across the board. In addition, poor students lagged behind Millard's more affluent students.

The existence of an achievement gap shouldn't come as a shock.

Across the country, white and middle-class students score better than their poor and minority peers. The problem has brought calls for change locally and nationally, and that problem is not confined to inner cities.

Since 2000, Millard has added more minority students (1,300) than white students (1,000). Also in that time, the district has added 1,000 poor students.

Jon Lopez, a Millard administrator who analyzes the district's test scores, said Millard officials are aware of the achievement gap and ready to address it.

'We understand the responsibility,' Lopez said.

Overall, Millard remains a top-scoring district.

On the composite score of reading, language and math, students in the six grades tested scored between the 72nd and 78th percentiles. In science and social studies, scores were generally lower, but still better than at least two-thirds of all students tested nationally.

Compared with last year's scores, Millard generally held steady. Third- and fourth-graders were up a bit on the reading, language and math score, while sixth- and seventh-graders slipped a bit. High school freshmen were down; sophomores were up.

Lopez said math and science results will get specific attention. Millard's fourth-graders scored lower in math compared with when they took the test as third-graders. Sixth-graders who moved on to seventh grade scored lower in science.

Overall, Millard's scores seem to have reached a plateau after seven years with the Terra Nova test, said Lopez, who presented the results to the Millard school board on Monday.

Some board members gave the scores a solid review.

Board member Linda Poole said increasing Millard's high scores is difficult. 'Our scores are indicating that we're doing a tremendous job,' she said.

Asian students score the best in Millard, reaching into the 80th percentile on the reading, language and math composite. White students scored between the 73rd and 79th percentiles on that measure.

Other groups aren't doing so tremendously.

On the reading, language and math composite, Latinos scored between 13 and 26 percentile points behind whites, depending on the grade level. Black students were between 17 and 32 percentile points behind whites.

Among poor and middle- or upper-class students, the gap reached 27 percentile points on the core composite score in 10th grade.

Although those students lag behind, Millard's lowest-scoring groups still outperform the average student nationally.

While noting that 'change is going to come to this district,' board member Mike Kennedy expressed concern about Millard South High's scores, which are between 12 and 19 percentile points lower than Millard North's and West's results. Millard South's scores dip as low as the 54th percentile in freshman social studies.

Millard South has more poor and minority students than the other high schools.

But Kennedy said demographics cannot be an excuse for poor performance.

'We've got to have a line for that to not go down further,' he said.

Millard remains a largely white, middle-class school district. While the Omaha Public Schools' enrollment is more than half minority and more than half poor, Millard last school year was 11 percent minority and 10 percent low-income.

Lopez said the district also is seeing an increase in students from immigrant families.

'We know these at-risk kids are coming,' he said. 'We prepare for them. So far, we feel like we've served them pretty well.'

Lopez said he believes teachers and administrators are ready to use test results to monitor the gaps. Schools also will be addressing the issue as they develop their individual building improvement plans, he said.

'I feel like we're ready. . . . We have a great team in place to attack the issue.'

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Mr Roger K. Olsson
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