Ankeny Students Earn High Marks on State Tests

Ankeny students improved their performance on standardized tests for the third straight year.

Student scores were above the state average for the 2010-11 school year, and in most cases the improvements were double-digit increases.

Susie Meade, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, credits the trend to measures implemented during the 2009-10 school year.

“The test scores are simply a measure – our ultimate goal is to positively affect student learning,” Meade said. “This shows the dedication of the district and our focus on students…that we’re all collectively moving in the same direction.”

In Iowa, the Basic Skills test is administered to grades three through eight and the Educational Development test to ninth- and 11^th-grade students.

During the 2007-08 academic year, the district held "round table" discussions with district teachers to help set goals for a new curriculum.

“We wanted to identify what the students should know, recommit to our curriculum and ensure teachers have the right resources,” she said.

At the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, the district began planning how to overhaul curriculum throughout its 12 schools. The district started, Meade said, by asking teachers to change how they were evaluating what students were learning and requiring teachers to adjust teaching methods to fit that evaluation model.

Teachers now assess students to see what they are learning and what they retain by giving pre and post tests on material. Giving these tests help teachers identify which students need additional support and which students can extend their learning through advanced placement and other alternative classes.

The district provides an instructional coach in each school to provide feedback and guidance to teachers regarding their teaching methods. Math labs and second-chance reading programs are available for students as well.

Over the past two years, the district has seen curriculum changes in math, art, modern languages, literacy and computer and technical education.

For example, the district required the use of the Everyday Math program to teach the subject consistently throughout elementary schools. A similar change occurred in middle school English classes to make it easier for students.

Jeff Schumacher, principal at Parkview Middle School, said the test scores reinforce the positive affects the curriculum changes have had on students.

"We have fully invested in this process the prior three years and we are now quantifying the higher levels of student achievement," he said. 

Meade said the district's goal for the 2011-12 school year will be improving the writing skills of both students and teachers.

“We also want to engage students in a lot more – the more we can get (them) to engage and practice what they learn, the better off they will be in whatever they choose to do in life,” Meade said.

According to the 2011 test results provided by the school district, students showed improvement in math and reading:

• 89.5 percent of fifth-grade students are rated competent in math, with 42.5 percent scoring better than 90 percent of other fifth graders who took the test.

• 95.7 percent of students in ninth grade are rated competent in math with 40.1 percent scoring better than 90 percent of other ninth graders who took the test, a 13.7-percent increase from those who earned similar scores in 2009-2010.

• 92 percent of fourth-grade students are rated competent in reading and 32.9 percent scored better than 90 percent of other fourth graders who took the test, a 15.1-percent increase from those who earned similar scores in 2009-2010.

• 90.9 percent of seventh-grade students are rated competent in reading and 33.3 percent scored better than 90 percent of other fourth graders who took the test, a 12.6-percent increase from those who earned similar scores in 2009-2010.