Superintendent Explains District's Efforts for Improving Standardized Test Scores

Dr. Mark Porto, superintendent of schools,  explained the district’s process for helping students improve standardized test scores to parents and administration as he gave a brief presentation on the 2010 results during the meeting Thursday night.

He has made a chart of the scores available on the district’s web site and pointed out improvements such as at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade levels. Porto stated that the high school language arts advanced proficiency scores put them as one of the top schools in the state.  (.)

Porto said he is proud that the district is moving away from teaching to the standardized tests and rather working towards getting students to be college-bound.

He explained the district worked to align both elementary schools in the process. They  brought in a consultant who worked with the children in grades three to eight on writing.  Porto said the consultant taught the students how to take compositional risks – using metaphors and similes and personifications, teaching them how to improve their writing and not directly teaching them how to take the standardized test. As a result the students became better writers, Porto said.

He also credited the use of study island as a way of improving the literacy in the district this year.

As for math, next year concepts of Algebra will be taught beginning in the first grade, Porto told the audience. He explained it is being implemented as a state content core standard and it’s being done to get students to start thinking about math differently at that early stage.

Porto stressed that these scores are just one component of their grading and that all their potential has to be recognized.

“We are working hard to make scores better but the excellence already exists in our district and it’s just an effort of mining it and bringing it out in our students,” said Porto.