The Jamestown Public School Board learned at Monday's meeting that students in the district are reaching state-required reading proficiency levels, regardless of not making the federal Adequate Yearly progress standards set by No Child Left Behind.
Wayne Leben, from the district's special education office, presented a series of charts that showed average descriptive reading test scores from students as they progressed through the education system.
As years progressed, there were some changes in the district throughout K-12 to help various groups of students. Some of those measures include the Read 180 program, Reading First, block scheduling at the high school and all-day kindergarten.
Because the data shown to the board was descriptive, not inferential, it's difficult to gauge the value of those programs, but generalizations can be made, said Superintendent Bob Toso.
Descriptive statistics are a broad presentation of facts. Inferential are more in-depth.
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For each age group, Leben's data showed the essentially the same results.
"As you can see they moved up and always maintained an average score above the proficiency level," Leben said.
Lisa Hoffer, technology coordinator for the district, and Amber Hartmann, administrative assistant at the district's special education office, helped Leben gather the data.
Each grade is charted by year and it was shown where the average score of the class ranks compared to the North Dakota State Assessment proficiency level. There is a deviation of roughly 25 to 28 points higher and lower from the average, which in most cases was good enough to reach proficiency.
This is unlike No Child Left Behind which looks at students by grade level each year, not as a collective group over the course of many years.
"Even though we're doing better and better every year, we're still being labeled for not making AYP," Toso said. "If there's one thing the people in Washington are beginning to understand is that has got to change."
AYP requires a higher percentage of students to reach the proficiency levels each year.
"Proficiency doesn't change, what changes is the number of students that must demonstrate it," Leben said.
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No Child Left Behind wants 100 percent of students at proficiency by 2014.
This past year 82 percent of schools nationwide -- including Jamestown -- failed to meet AYP. That requires that 10 percent of the district's federal Title 1 funds be used for professional development. That amounts to $73,000 that must be used by JPS this year for professional development.
"We don't lose money, what we lose is some flexibility with the Title 1 dollars we have ..." Toso said. "That put some limitations on us this spring when we were going through the hiring process."
Still, board members agreed that the results were promising news for a district that has failed to make AYP for two consecutive years.
"This is exactly the kind of information this board should be looking at -- all programs at all levels," said Gail Martin, board member.
Board member Diane Hanson agreed.
"A layman's interpretation of this is that our programs are working, and you can see when all-day kindergarten kicks in and you can see the numbers," Hanson said.
Toso said it's very promising to look at a graph and see a 45-degree-angle increase in assessment scores through a period of years, but that the board should remember the data presented was descriptive, not inferential.
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"It would be a mistake to try and draw some conclusions on what you saw today," he said. We shouldn't look at these and sit in judgment or agreement of Read 180 or all-day kindergarten -- that would be a mistake. But we can sit and draw some generalizations."
Still the numbers look promising because Toso said math scores throughout the district are generally higher than reading.
"For the most part across the district, in every grade you're going to see in math and reading that the kids do grow and they grow significantly," Toso said.
Sun writer Ben Rodgers can be reached at (701) 952-8455 or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com
