JOHNSTON -- As the School Department hunkered down for the state assessment tests last spring, Supt. Margaret Iacovelli and other administrators hoped students would raise the level of their academic game.
It appears that they have done just that.
In math, English language arts and writing, the test scores show that the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards in grades 4, 8 and 10 has increased.
"I was thrilled for the individual schools that worked so hard," said Iacovelli. "The principals and staff are the ones that did the work."
She said the test results can be attributed to increased professional development, the consistency in administration and an overall concentration on making students active participants, not passive listeners.
In math, seven of the district's eight schools increased the percentage of students hitting or exceeding the state target. Only Graniteville Elementary saw the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the state standard shrink in math skills, one of three subsections in math.
Several of the schools, including Nicholas A. Ferri Middle, Winsor Hill, and Barnes, showed dramatic improvement in math.
Last year, only 43 percent of the students were meeting the standard in math skills at the middle school. This year, the percentage jumped to 73 percent. At Winsor Hill, the percentage of students making the grade in problem-solving increased from 3 percent last year to 50 percent this year. And at Barnes, 87 percent of the students met the mark this year in math concepts, compared to 59 percent a year ago.
"I'm really happy. I think that what the superintendent and the assistant superintendent are doing is working," said School Committee member Norma-Jean Pirri. "I see an improvement. I say things are improving, too, because here is my theory -- we are getting a lot of complaints from kids and the parents are extremely happy."
Most schools showed similar upswings in their English language arts scores.
At Brown Avenue School, 87 percent of the students met or exceeded the standard in analysis and interpretation, compared to 59 percent last year. And 75 percent of the students at Thornton elementary hit the mark -- a 22-percent jump from a year ago.
Iacovelli said the work is never complete. The department's three-year chart shows that the scores can change dramatically from year to year.
And there are schools that have improved, but still have less than half the students meeting the state standard. For example, only 26 percent of the middle school test takers are meeting the standard in math concepts and only 29 percent of the high school students are up to par in problem solving.
"There is always work to be done," Iacovelli said. "One can never be satisfied in this position because we always want to raise the bar."
Sill, Iacovelli hopes the improvement translates well when the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education releases its school ratings in November.
The ratings are based on schools hitting annual targets, in both English language arts and mathematics, for the school and for various groups of students within the school. They also must hit targets for attendance and graduation rates. Schools that miss a target are coined "in need of improvement."
Last year, the high school and middle school were two of the district's three schools tagged as "in need of improvement." Thornton Elementary School also was pinned with the rating last year because special education students were not meeting the mark in English language arts.
Last month, however, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education said that has changed. So, Thornton should shed the unwanted "need of improvement" tag when the state ratings are released later this year.
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