RSS feed for all messages. CSAP: Third-grade reading scores up in region, state Comments 10 Wildflower Elementary has perfect score May 10, 2011 12:01 PM CAROL MCGRAW THE GAZETTE Wildflower Elementary in Harrison School District 2 hit the reading jackpot Tuesday when it was named one of only eight schools in Colorado in which 100 percent of its third-grade students scored proficient or advanced. In addition, 52 percent of its third graders scored in the advanced category ? the highest of any school in Colorado. It?s particularly noteworthy because 74 percent of Wildflower students come from low income families and are therefore considered at risk for falling behind and dropping out of school in upper grades. ?We are so excited, it?s a miracle,? said Wildflower principal Wendy Birhanzel. State scores for third-grade reading on the Colorado Student Assessment Program were released Tuesday and showed that 73 percent of students scored proficient and advanced on the test compared to 70 percent in 2010. The four percent increase was considered good news given that scores had declined in 2010. Of the 17 school districts in the Pikes Peak region, 12 had increases, two declined, two remained the same, and scores for Edison were not reported because of the small number of students taking the test. The early release reading scores have traditionally been an indication of how well districts performed on other CSAP tests. The full report of scores will be released this summer. Third-grade reading is a particularly important test, because students who don?t read at grade level then are less likely to keep up in other subjects, and once they fall behind it is hard to recover. Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 had the highest scores in El Paso County, with 94 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced, an increase of two percent. The score, the fourth highest in the state, was the district?s best ever. None of D-12?s six schools fell below 91 percent. Superintendent Walt Cooper said they are in the third year of a new reading curriculum, but added, ?If that was the answer, it would be easy. But we are committed to interventions, professional development, and even though we?ve had the highest scores we just keep working at it. We spend a lot of energy making sure that everything we are doing is the right thing to do.? Among other consistently high performers in the region, Lewis-Palmer School District 38 had a six percent jump to 88 percent. Academy School District 20 had a score of 87, an increase of one percent. In one unique program aimed at keeping a focus on reading, all school board members read and tutor individual third graders. Manitou Springs School District 14 increased from 81 percent to 91 percent of students proficient and advanced. The increase was due, in part, to better scores at Ute Pass. Last year, Ute Pass scored 56 percent. The school usually only has about 16 students, so its scores depend more on the skills of individual children, said Pat Urban, director of instruction. The scores at Manitou Elementary have had steady growth, with this year?s score a 92 compared to last year?s 87. In the largest district in the region, Colorado Springs School District 11, 74 percent of students scored proficient or advanced, for a 7 percent increase over 2010. Three elementary schools did particularly well: King and Chipeta had 92 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced, and Scott has 97 percent. ?This is the first group of third graders who have benefited from free full-day kindergarten,? said spokeswoman Elaine Naleski. Also, she noted, for the past year the district had an achievement team of curriculum and literacy experts working closely with the schools. In Harrison, 67 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced, an increase of 3 percent over last year. Monterey Elementary?s scores jumped 67 percent, and Bricker, 37 percent. But the district also had some of the lower scores in the Pikes Peak region. Pikes Peak Elementary School scored 48 percent proficient or advanced, and Stratmoor Hills, 49 percent. The D-2 successes, including the 100 percent score at Wildflower Elementary School, and increases in five other schools, gives D-2 officials hope that its many innovations will pay off. D-2 officials said they believe Wildflower is the only Colorado school with more than 70 percent at-risk students to ever hit that perfect score on third-grade reading. State officials could not verify that. Of the eight schools with perfect scores this year, the next highest at-risk rate was at Ross Montessori in Carbondale, where 16 percent of students receive free and reduced-price lunch rates. Harrison Superintendent Mike Miles says there is much more to do. But he says that the scores at Wildflower prove that at-risk students can succeed. He calls the D-2 strategy ?academic privilege,? giving them the skills and proficiency to excel, graduate and continue their education with financial help from stakeholders. During the last five-year plan, the district got off academic probation, got rid of teachers deemed ineffective and adopted a pay for performance system that compensates based on how well students do. Starting at the end of the 2011-12 school year, D-2 will hold back third graders who are not proficient in reading to ensure that they don?t fall behind in fourth grade. Miles notes that the district insists on three things from parents: getting kids to school on time, giving them a quiet place to do homework and reading with them every day. At Wildflower, as well as some other schools, they track every student on a large strategy board. ?We don?t let any kid fall through the cracks and parents support us,? said Birhanzel. ?Every week we test to see if they are making progress. If not they get intervention.? The school has a unique uninterrupted two-hour literacy block first thing in the morning when all staff members, such as counselors and physical education teachers, go into the reading classrooms to provide extra support. ?The student-teacher ratio goes down and there is more individualized attention,? Birhanzel explains. Instead of following a set reading program, they use a variety of resources from the Internet, workbooks and elsewhere. Teachers and staff call parents and make home visits to see why students are absent, why homework isn?t done, and to discuss other problems. ?It?s hard work but we do whatever it takes,? Birhanzel says. Highest scores Schools with the highest CSAP scores in third-grade reading in the Pikes Peak Region: Wildflower Elementary, Harrison School District 2: 100 percent ? Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy, Cheyenne Mountain School District 12: 98 percent ? Broadmoor Elementary, District 12: 97 percent ? Scott Elementary, Colorado Springs School District 11: 97 percent ? Cheyenne Mountain Elementary, District 12: 96 percent ? Chinook Trail, Academy School District 20: 95 percent ? James Irwin Charter, District 2: 95 percent ? Discovery Canyon Campus, District 20: 95 percent Lowest scores Schools with the lowest CSAP scores in third-grade reading in the Pikes Peak region: ? Pikes Peak Elementary, District 2: 48 ? Stratmoor Hills Elementary, District 2: 49 ? Hunt Elementary, District 11: 52 ? Roosevelt Edison Charter, District 11: 52 ? Edison Elementary, District 11: 52 ? Centennial Elementary, District 2: 52 Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/third-117818-percent-scored.html#ixzz1M15lt6sJ class_forums_messages.cfm?mid=159630&r=1 2011-05-11T21:03:14-04:00 Third grade reading scores up in region!!!! - Gazette Telegraph