The National Assessment of Educational Program released data from statistics collected in 2011 that showed no improvement or decline in math and reading scores for students in fourth and eighth-grade in Utah. However, testing conducted within the Park City School District showed that students in 8th-grade at Treasure Mountain Middle School improved in language arts and reading, according to Treasure Mountain Principal Bob O’Connor.
The Park City School District conducts the Criteria in Reference Test at the end of each school year to assess student achievement, while also focusing on student subgroups through the No Child Left Behind Act, according to O’Connor.
In 2011, the TMMS Caucasian subgroup scored 100 percent in language arts testing on the Criteria in Reference Test, compared to 98 percent in 2010. The Hispanic subgroup reached 93 percent, up from 87 percent the previous year. Economically disadvantaged students scored 95 percent, limited-English speaking students scored 90 percent and students with disabilities scored 92 percent in 2011.
“We’ve been making gains steadily over the last couple of years and this year we did better than the target we were shooting for,” O’Connor said. “It comes down to the majority of our teachers here rolling up their sleeves and getting to it.”
According to O’Connor, the achievement gap is a chronic problem throughout the country, and not just in Park City. He said 8th-grade TMMS language arts, social studies and history teachers have been diligent about working the students.
“It’s a systemic approach to a systemic problem. We have set some pretty high goals to improve these scores even more,” O’Connor said. “The target is for every student to be successful. It’s a goal, and it’s something that every teacher here is aspiring to achieve.”
McPolin Elementary School Principal Bob Edmiston said the National Assessment of Educational Program is something completely different than the testing the Park City School District conducts. He said the test is not aligned with the Utah State Standards, but is nationally recognized and created by the national government. According to Edmiston, comparing the NAEP to PSCD testing scores is like comparing apples and oranges, but both assessments are valuable.
“What I like about NAEP is that when they give the test there is no one from the school that is involved in the activity,” Edmiston said. “A separate group gives that assessment carefully and consistently in all building sites.”
The Utah Office of Education Spokesman Mark Peterson, said the NAEP testing results for Utah are not surprising considering the economic events since 2009.
“We’d like to see growth, but considering the circumstances that went on between 2009 and 2011, that is, the recession hit and a larger percent of kids are living in poverty, we’ve increased poverty and ethnic diversity in the schools and we’ve decreased funding,” Peterson said. “That we didn’t backslide isn’t bad.”
According to Peterson, more than 16,000 non-white students enrolled into the Utah public school system and Utah schools’ poverty levels increased from 33 percent to 37 percent. The state measures school poverty levels by the Free and Reduced price lunch participation. Funding for Utah students also dropped from $6,564 to $6,265 per pupil, Peterson said, adding that property tax is a helpful staple, but it’s only a small piece of the puzzle.
“The primary funding source in Utah public schools is income tax. So fewer people with jobs means fewer people with an income and that price is reduced,” Peterson said. “That makes up roughly 70 percent of the funding.”
Fourth-graders had an average of 220 in 2011, which is up from 219 in 2009, according to Peterson, who said the one point average increase doesn’t count as a statistical improvement. Eighth-graders scored an average of 267 in 2011, which was also up one point since 2009. The scale is out of 500 points and is calculated through 12th-grade. Elementary school students should have a lower average compared to high school students.
“Seniors will be at the upper end of the scale. When a second-grader scores 200, it’s not bad. When a 12th-grader does, it’s bad,” he said.
The achievement gap is a persistent problem, according to Peterson, who said some of it has to do with poverty, but regardless remediation is expensive.
“As more resources become available we’re looking to see improvements in student achievement,” he said. “We can’t do more with less, but that’s where we’re at. We intend to do more with more, but were already the lowest funded system in the country in Utah.”