Two La Grange elementary school districts topped state averages and generally scored better in English than math on Illinois’ new standardized tests.
The results somewhat reverse a trend toward higher math scores, particularly among students with English as a second language, according to past tests.
During two sessions in the spring, third- through eighth-grade students across the state took the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, replacing the Illinois StandardsAchievement Test
PARCC is nationally normed and designed to measure more rigorous Common Core standards in English and math, asking students to do more analysis and comparisons than supply memorized facts, educators said. Online versions contain a video or PowerPoint component students are asked to compare and contrast with text passages.
District 102 Superintendent Kyle Schumacher, who started his job July 1, said higher English scores reflected recent curriculum changes to align with Common Core standards and develop critical thinking skills.
The district began using a new math curriculum in the fall, and it is hoped to boost student learning and test performance, Schumacher said. Math Expressions for kindergarten through 5th grade and Digits for 6th through 8th graders replace a prior curriculum not aligned to Common Core, he said.
“The new program is more application based with a lot more thinking and development of number sense,” he said.
The new math program’s increased rigor likely will influence future English results as well, Schumacher said.
“Whether in math or language arts, you still have to think, ask questions and dig down deeper,” he said.
District 105 also is evaluating new math curricula more aligned to Common Core to adopt a program for next year, said Kathryn Heeke, director of curriculum and instruction.
Part of the difficulty has been a lag time in companies developing new curricula reflecting Common Core, Heeke said. In the meantime, teachers are modifying the district’s current program to use math modeling and promote critical thinking, she said.
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The new math test also puts those who struggle with English at a disadvantage, because students have to do a lot of writing and reading in addition to number computations, Heeke said.
Sometimes, a story problem on PARCC gives the answer, but asks if the student agrees, and he or she then must then say why, providing evidence, she explained.
District 105 students scored better on the English portion, reflecting curriculum changes and classroom practices, the director said.
“Kids are used to doing longer extended responses in class,” she said. “Kids read passages and compare nonfiction and fiction. They cite evidence and know how to write about that.”
In general, district scores at every level were higher than state averages and higher than the PARCC Consortium average scores of all the districts in 11 other states and the District of Columbia taking the test, Heeke said.
For example, 51 percent of the district 3rd graders demonstrated proficiency compared with state averages of 34 percent for 150,000 test takers and the consortium average of 38 percent for 650,000 students, she said.
Schumacher said he, too, was pleased District 102 students exceeded state and consortium averages with scores ranging from 55 percent to 72 percent in math and English at the various grade levels.
“Should they and can they be higher? Absolutely,” he said. “There are opportunities for growth in every subject and grade level, and that’s how we’re looking at this.”
Both administrators acknowledged score discrepancies among schools in their respective districts, based on income levels and language challenges.
“It reinforces what we already know about the achievement gap, whether we’re looking at MAP assessments or ISAT,” Heeke said. “PARCC isn’t giving us any different picture. There are significant achievement gaps with students of poverty and other groups.”
At Hodgkins Elementary School, where some families have economic challenges, 25 percent of students made the grade in English and 26 percent met the math benchmark, compared to 78.6 percent in English and 64 percent in math at Spring Avenue School in La Grange without such issues.
One of the district’s top goals in the year ahead is to reduce the achievement gap through differentiated instruction and making connections with parents for support at home, as well as better preparing staff to meet those students’ needs, Heeke said.
Schumacher said greater differences between scores at Forest Road Elementary School and other district schools prompted more questions. Officials found the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunch had jumped to 23 percent from 9 percent. The state had been reporting that income indicator incorrectly, he said.
Both administrators said they’re looking at the 2015 scores as a benchmark, offering plenty of room for improvement and little basis for comparison to past scores of a widely different ISAT test.
The administrators also said they hope for results sooner on the 2016 tests and more detailed information on each of the tests’ categories to influence instruction.
District 102 is planning a presentation for parents at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 in the Park Junior High School Learning Resource Center, at Ogden and Brainard avenues in La Grange Park, Schumacher said. The School Board plans to further analyze results Jan. 28, he said.
After sending home individual student results by Dec. 18, District 105 is awaiting feedback to see if a meeting is needed to further explain results to parents, Heeke said.
Twitter: @janemichaels22