Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 17, 1993 TAG: 9308170679
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LARRY O'DELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
But Virginia students' scores on national standardized tests were above the national average but little changed from last year.
The Literacy Passport Test, administered since the 1988-89 school year, tests students in reading comprehension, writing and mathematics. Students must pass all three segments of the test before advancing to the ninth grade. The tests are given beginning in the sixth grade.
Last spring, 69.3 percent of the sixth-graders passed on their first attempt, Elaine Grainger of the Department of Education told the board. That was up from 63.6 percent the year before.
Last year's results, however, were the second lowest in the five-year history of the test. In the test's first year, 54.1 percent passed on the first try. The figure improved to 65 percent in 1989-90 and 72 percent in 1990-91.
A report presented to the board said the low scores last year probably resulted from differences in how teachers prepared students for the test.
James Jones, board president, nevertheless found this year's improvement encouraging. He called the Literacy Passport Test "a remarkable success story."
"This program is working," he said. "It's doing what we wanted. It has improved real reading and writing achievement."
Board members asked how many students still have been unable to pass the test. Deputy Secretary of Education Doris Redfield said that number was not readily available, but she said it can be pulled from the department's data base.
About 75,000 Virginia fourth-graders and 72,000 eighth-graders took the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills last spring, and about 55,000 high school juniors were given the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency.
Virginia students scored higher than the national average on all subjects tested, ranging from the 53rd percentile to the 69th percentile.
Virginia students slipped by one percentile point on six of the 13 scores reported on the standardized tests. They increased by one percentile point on two of the scores and remained unchanged on the other five scores.
\ LITERACY PASSPORT TEST RESULTS\ \ PERCENTAGE OF SIXTH GRADERS PASSING\ \ LOCALITY READING WRITING MATH ALL TESTS\ Bedford County 80.6 80.5 87.4 67.8\ Botetourt County 85.7 90.0 84.0 73.1\ Franklin County 80.0 79.7 89.5 67.1\ Montgomery County 83.2 80.1 92.4 71.1\ Pulaski County 78.0 79.4 84.0 65.9\ Roanoke County 90.7 90.4 91.8 82.0\ Roanoke 79.3 82.3 83.8 65.6\ Salem 86.1 87.5 94.6 79.0\ STATE 81.6 80.8 86.6 69.3
Memo: ***CORRECTION***