Standardized test scores falling
Coudersport school board considers remedies

Members of the Coudersport Area School Board came to terms with declining student performances on some standardized tests during Monday's monthly meeting.

"How do we fix it, instead of talking about it?" was board member Bob Benson's challenge to the school's administration and faculty. "How do we remedy this so that the trend doesn't continue to worsen, but at least levels off?"

School Superintendent George Nuffer responded that the administration is taking steps to bring up test scores.

"We know that we have a math problem here," said High School Principal Alanna Huck. "We know we have to work on it."

Huck added that a new reporting system helps faculty members to pinpoint specific area where student performance is lacking.

"Remediation is taking place," she emphasized. "I think we have a lot of teachers on the right track."

Elementary School Principal Sherry Cowburn said similar efforts are underway with that faculty.

"We know that it starts at the fundamental level," Cowburn told the board, adding that elementary teachers are receiving additional training.

"I have asked that our teachers have a plan for addressing the problem and they are taking great steps in the right direction," Cowburn added.

Benson pressed for teacher accountabilty and specific tracking.

"Teachers and department heads should be part of the solution," he said. "How do we fix it? The answer may be the quality of the teacher."

"It needs to be part of a broader plan," Benson continued. "Hope is not a plan . . . We're producing kids here in Coudersport who follow national norms that are not healthy."

Most recently, the district received results from the SAT College Prep exams. Coudersport's average scores were 474 in critical reading, 496 in math and 479 in writing, for a total of 1,449. The average score in 2006 was 1,481.

Nationally, the average student scored a 1,540 in 2007.

Local educators are quick to point out that relatively small samplings can result in large fluctuations in average test results. In Coudersport, 48 students took the SAT in 2007.

At an earlier meeting, school directors reviewed student scores from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests.

In math, Coudersport's seventh-graders tested at 55 percent at or above proficient, compared to a statewide average of 67 percent. Coudersport had a 64 percent proficiency rate among seventh-graders in 2006.

Seventh-graders tested at 62 percent proficient in writing; statewide average was 67 percent and Coudersport's average in 2006 was 68 percent.

Coudersport's eight-graders were above the statewide average in reading, at 79 percent proficiency, compared to the statewide mark of 75 percent.

In math, eighth-graders tested at 64 percent; statewide average was 68 percent. Writing score was 62 percent, compared to the state average of 72 percent.

Coudersport's 11th-graders tested above the state average in all three categories: reading, 74 percent (65); math, 66 percent (54); writing 96 percent (88).