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Williams' Stanford-9 scores up

Half of the students in Williams scored well in reading and math on the Standford-9 Achievement Test (SAT-9), but only about a third are making the grade in language.

Only the second, sixth and seventh grades beat the state averages in language. Half the students met or surpassed state averages in reading and about 40 percent did so in math.

Dr. Gail Tetrick, principal at the Williams Elementary/Middle School, said the SAT-9 is an important tool in education.

“Any group with more than 45 percent of the students below the 50th percentile — these are the grade levels where improvement is needed,” she said. “It helps our teachers plan curriculum.”

Last year, the test showed the seventh grade as a high risk population, Tetrick said.

“Not only did their means improve but the grade equivalence is increasing,” she said. “They made significant gains — much more than anticipated.”

The SAT-9 is given annually to all students in second through eleventh grades. This year, about 650,000 students took the test.

Grades where more than 55 percent of the students are above the 50th percentile include the second grade in math, third grade in reading, fifth grade in reading, sixth grade in reading and math, seventh grade in math and language and the eighth grade in math and language. At the high school, the ninth-grade had 68 percent at or above the national average in math and eleventh grade had 61 percent of its students above the average, also in math.

Areas of concern at the middle school are language for the second grade, math for the third grade, reading, math and language for the fourth grade and the sixth grade needs improvement in language.

“The fourth grade has made significant gains, but they are slightly lower than what we would want,” Tetrick said.

At the high school, only 36 percent of the ninth graders are at or above the national average in language. The tenth grade is at 24 percent and the eleventh grade is at 39 percent.

Mobility is a factor in the test scores, Tetrick said. She listed transfers, short-term enrollees and absenteeism as influences.

“We’ve had overall improvement in absentees — that effects performance,” she said.

Tetrick also said students who have never tested before is another factor.

“First year testing is real tough for new students,” she said.

Lisa Graham Keegan, state superintendent of schools, reported the state made statistically significant gains in achievement, in all grades, for the third consecutive year.

“I want to congratulate our students, teachers and our schools on this steady progress in achievement,” she said. “Success is making steady progress toward challenging goals. We are unquestionably doing that in Arizona and I could not be happier.”


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