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How do local students stack up?
While some faculty members resent having to "teach for the test," administrators are applying the heat because funding and other incentives are dependent on student test scores. The situation at Cameron County, Coudersport and Austin is not unique. It's one of the frustrations experienced by professional educators across the nation as a result of the federal No Child Left Behind law. While math and reading skills are emphasized, critics charge, other components of a broad-based education -- music and art, for example -- are falling by the wayside. Smaller school districts also believe that linking funding to standardized test scores is unfair, since a handful of poor performers in an otherwise competent class could bring down the whole group. The Pa. System of State Assessments (PSSA) measures students' mastery of math, reading and, in some grades, writing skills. The goal is to have 100 percent of students become proficient by the year 2014.
All three local school districts are far from that lofty goal, according to PSSA results from 2007 testing (statewide average in parentheses): While all three districts are making changes to lift PSSA scores, administrators are quick to point out that a snapshot focusing only on numbers can be misleading. At Cameron County's Woodland Elementary School, for example, some classes have tested low in part because they have a high proportion of learning impaired students. On a brighter note, Cameron County 11th-graders' scores in math and English have risen in recent years from the bottom quarter to near the top among all 15 districts in Pa. Intermediate Unit Nine. At Coudersport, members of the School Board have been coming to terms with declining student performances in some areas. "We know that we have a math problem," said High School Principal Alanna Huck. "We have to work on it." Huck added that a new reporting system helps faculty members to pinpoint specific areas 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 our teachers for a plan to address the problem and they are taking great steps in the right direction," Cowburn added. "We're trying to create a sense of urgency." Coudersport Area School Superintendent George Nuffer supports the principals' efforts. "Our students are being taught a lot more than how to memorize and regurgitate information," Nuffer pointed out. "The emphasis now is on how to apply the skills that they learn." Even so, Nuffer sees the lofty goal of 100 percent student proficiency by 2014 as unrealistic in the current educational climate. He said it would call for drastic changes in teaching methods and curriculum, not all of which would necessarily be in students' best interests. As Pennsylvania's least populous school district, Austin is the most affected by fluctuations in standardized test scores. "There's no question that our scores can be misleading due to class size," Austin Superintendent Matt Hutcheson said. "For instance, one student can represent 10 percent of the entire class for one grade." Austin High School students are required to attend afterschool remediation if they fail to meet state proficiency standards, Hutcheson said. "During the latest year, students who participated in the remediation realized gains of 29 points in writing, 120 points in reading and 128 points in math," he added. "We continue to work to meet the performance expectations of the No Child Left Behind law." Hutcheson also pointed out that, for the fourth straight year, Austin received the Academic Achievement Award for improved PSSA scores at the elementary and high schools. |
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