High Schools' CSAP scores released

When the x’s and y’s of algebra start to replace numbers in math class, some students struggle, and it shows in test scores.

Scores for the 2008 Colorado Student Assessment Program tests reveal that 11 of 17 Pikes Peak-area school districts remained steady or increased the percentage of 10th-graders scoring proficient or advanced on CSAP tests, but the best district still had only 65 percent proficient or advanced.

Only Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 had more than half of their 10th-graders rating proficient or better.

At Tesla High School in Colorado Springs District 11, however, more focused efforts in math instruction added up to higher student achievement. Scores released Tuesday showed that while test scores remain low at the alternative high school, it and Tesla Middle School had some of the largest percentage increases in the Pikes Peak region in math scores.

The percentage of eighthgraders scoring proficient or advanced rose from 6 to 15 percent, an increase of 150 percent. The percentage of ninth-graders went up 138 percent — from 13 to 31 percent. And the percentage of 10th-graders jumped from 4 to 9 percent.

Tesla’s gains came from multiple efforts, said Tesla High School principal Tanya Nash:

• Students were given short tests every two weeks, which helped teachers determine whether they were ready to move on to other math concepts or needed another round of explanation.

• Students who scored unsatisfactory on past CSAP math tests were required to take a math lab, along with Algebra 1. The lab gave them time to work on basic skills such as fractions and multiplication, Nash said.

• Teachers familiarized students with the CSAP test by using materials with similar questions. Nash said students practiced everything from marking answers within specific areas to showing a plan for answering the question even if they didn’t know the answer.

Students can score points by showing work — even if they don’t end up with the right answer — on some questions, she said.

But math can’t be the sole focus of high schools and districts. They use CSAP and other test scores to see where improvements can be made in all areas, and officials from several districts pointed out that their efforts have been working. In turn, CSAP scores play a role in the three school accountability systems in Colorado: the federal No Child Left Behind Act’s adequate yearly progress, the state’s School Accountability Report and the accreditation process.

Academy School District 20 officials noted acrossthe-board improvements at Aspen Valley High School, the district’s alternative high school. The school increased by more than 10 percentage points in all seven tests, said Todd Morse, D-20’s director for assessment.

Among the approaches that boost achievement, officials said, is giving frequent tests — similar to what Tesla did. That way teachers are constantly getting information about what students are learning so they can tailor help to individual needs.

Morse said D-20 used the concept for the first time last school year, giving tests to ninth- and 10th-graders across the district three times during the year.

High schools in D-11 also use “common assessments,” allowing teachers across the district to talk about how students are doing and share effective teaching practices, said Terry Bishop, D-11 superintendent.

Bishop and Morse agreed that CSAP scores are most effective at the individual student level: using the individual scores helps teachers see what is needed to reach each student, they said.

“There’s a human being behind each one of those scores, and that’s what we care about,” Morse said.

Contact the Writer: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com

NEWS CONFERENCE NOTABLES

The Colorado Department of Education singled out a Woodland Park school and Colorado Springs school district at a news conference Tuesday to release CSAP scores.

Woodland Park High School, in Woodland Park School District RE-2, was one of nine schools statewide mentioned at the news conference for performing above the state average and showing improvement in at least one subject area over a three-year period.

Colorado Springs School District 11 was noted for “terrific growth” in writing. A comparison of the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in writing from 2007 to 2008 shows an increase in four of eight grades. The percentage of ninth-graders remained the same.

Check it out at gazette.com/schools.