Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2017)
4A ● APPEAL TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 Life in the Valley y sanews@salem.gannett.com Richard Moles, 80, of Silverton plays his accordion at the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel on Friday. The town’s annual Oktoberfest continues Saturday and Sunday. PHOTOS BY ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL EARLY OKTOBER People gather to watch the glockenspiel as it plays at the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest on opening day Friday. The glockenspiel clock tower and Die Fruchtsäule are at the heart of at the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest. School tests show mixed results across student groups LAUREN E HERNANDEZ STATESMAN JOURNAL Oregon student test scores dropped in most grades with the exception of high school, according to a review of state- wide data. The state is in its third year adminis- tering the end-of the-year Smarter Bal- anced Assessment for English and Math, and Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to students in grades 3 through 8 and juniors in high school. In the Salem-Keizer School District, participating students districtwide had lower scores in English language arts, mathematics, and science. Roughly 49.4 percent of students re- ceived a 3 or 4 rating in English. Students who receive a 3 or 4 of the four possible ratings are considered to be on track to graduate high school, ready for college and prepared for the workplace.Last year, 50.7 percent received the same lev- el. Mathematics scores dropped by less than a point, from 36.5 percent to 36.1 percent, and science scores went from 54.9 percent to 54.5 percent. The district's 11th- and eighth-grad- ers, however, improved in all three areas. The percentage of Salem-Keizer 11th- graders scoring 3 or 4 improved from 45.2 to 45.3 in science, from 31.4 to 36.5 in math, and 70.1 to 72.4 in English. In eighth grade, 56.2 percent of stu- dents received a 3 or 4 rating this year in English, an increase of about two per- A social studies class meets at Straub Middle School in West Salem on Sept. 5. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL centage points; math scores improved by roughly one point; and science scores improved by roughly two points. "That may be attributed to the number of students in accelerated math last year, but there may be other factors as well," said Matt Biondi, the Salem-Keizer School District Middle School Level di- rector. "There is quite a bit of growth im- provement in students." Biondi said the score boosts may also be explained by the district's focus on monitoring student learning and inter- vening to help students catch up to their peers in reading or other subjects. Kelly Carlisle, the Salem-Keizer School District Assistant Superinten- dent, said the improvements to the high school assessment results may be attrib- uted to more rigorous learning opportu- nities in math instruction. "That seems to be paying off," Carlisle said. "We have high aspirations for where these scores can go in the future, and we believe we have a path for that." While the district's elementary school results vary by grade, with some grades improving and others decreasing, Car- lisle said there is student growth occur- ring that may not be best observed through assessment scores. "We're excited about initiatives around literacy that are helping our stu- dents grow over time," Carlisle said. "It's important to remember that from year to year to the next that we're not looking at the same kids in these assessments." Carlisle said the district is currently working on a strategy that relies on us- ing periodic measurements of student learning in order to develop an interven- tion framework when helping kids reach grade-level goals. "Our teachers have been utilizing in- terventions for quite a while, but what we've not been able to do is provide a process or structure around the inter- vention that is a framework," Carlisle said. "Once that takes place, it takes a leap forward in terms of our ability to di- agnose an issue and respond with a spe- cific kind of intervention." Deputy Superintendent of Public In- struction Salam Noor said, “We are con- fident that as we work with school and district leaders to implement the Oregon Plan, we will see more students attend- ing school regularly, more students graduating and more scoring in the pro- ficient category on these assessments." Noor said in a statement he hopes Ore- gon's plan on prioritizing student atten- dance and strengthening district sys- tems can help improve proficiency in all subjects on annual assessments. While roughly 95 percent of Oregon students took the English language arts assessment and 94 percent of students took the math assessment, Noor said par- ticipation rates were down from last year. That change in participation could impact the overall accuracy of student performance results. "Continued concentration on partici- pation rates is critical, so our statewide assessment of school performance can more accurately reflect overall student performance,” Noor said. He said the assessment is one of the few reliable instruments the Depart- ment of Education has to review overall student performance.CQ Noor said he plans on working with school district of- ficials to improve participation over the next few years. “We have an important opportunity, through the Oregon Plan under the fed- eral Every Student Succeeds Act, to fo- cus on providing a culturally relevant, well-rounded education for every stu- dent,” Noor said. To read the full report breakdown by district, school and student group, visit http://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator- resources/assessment/Pages/Assess- ment-Group-Reports.aspx
