THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040212
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
THIS YEAR, the writing section of the three-part Literacy Passport Test was the Everest that most Suffolk sixth-graders struggled to climb.
Pass rates in that category dropped six percentage points while math achievement improved four percentage points compared with last year's results. Reading pass rates remained nearly the same.
Overall, 49 percent of all sixth-graders passed the reading, writing and math sections of the test on their first try this year, down from 57 percent last year and 58 percent the year before.
The LPT, first given in the sixth grade, was intended to make sure students mastered fundamentals before entering high school. Students who fail any part of the test the first time can retake that portion.
Since the 1989-90 school year, Suffolk generally has seen a steady increase in the percentage of sixth-graders passing every section of the test on their first try. This year's districtwide results came as a blow.
``We were very disappointed because our kids were really fired up and our teachers were fired up, as well,'' said Milton Liverman, the district's testing director. ``But we'll have to point to our history and say, `Look, we did better last year and we've been doing well over the past several years. We need to keep working hard.'
``We'll intensify our efforts because we know they were working. We were doing something right.''
At John Yeates Middle, the sixth-grade pass rate plunged 20 percentage points to just 48 percent this year. A key factor: The school's pass rate on the writing section dropped 20 percentage points. Last year, Yeates led the district with an overall pass rate of 68 percent.
Liverman has concerns about the state's scoring and administration of the writing section, which he described as difficult to standardize and thus to evaluate accurately. The state uses eight different writing prompts for students across Virginia.
Yeates Principal Edward T. Darden said the school would analyze additional achievement data on the incoming class of sixth-graders to better forecast their performance.
All schools, Liverman said, will ``come up with remediation plans for students having the most difficulty.'' Teachers also will be encouraged to help more students improve their writing style, opposed to nuts-and bolts alone, he said.
Students must pass all parts of the literacy test to be considered ninth-graders. But many haven't cleared that hurdle, instead moving through school with an ``ungraded'' label, which usually means they weren't assigned to a grade because they didn't pass the test.
In the upcoming school year, passage of all three parts will be among the criteria to earn a high school diploma; the Class of 1996 will be the first to face the new state standard.
This year, John F. Kennedy Middle, which has an extensive after-school tutoring program, had the best showing among the three middle schools, with 52 percent of sixth-graders passing every part of the test. The school's pass rate improved by 6 percentage points, up from 46 percent last year.
Across the district, educators have taken steps to help students struggling with the LPT. Schools, for example, require tutorials during the regular day for students having trouble with the basics.
The district offers LPT classes during the summer. And in the fourth grade, students are tested for weak areas so teachers and principals can develop individual learning plans to help them master many of the skills the test measures. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
SUFFOLK LITERACY PASSPORT TEST RESULTS
Passage of all three parts of the Literacy Passport Test is now
mandatory to receive a high school diploma. The Class of 1996 will
be the first to face the new state standard.
The percentage of Suffolk sixth-graders who passed all three
parts of the literacy test on the first try dropped by 8 percentage
points this year from last. The test, which measures how well
students have mastered basic reading, writing and math skills, is
first given in the sixth grade.
1995 49%
1994 57%
1993 58%
1992 47%
School-by-school, the percentages of sixth-graders who passed all
three parts of the test on the first try this year were:
Forest Glen Middle 49%
John F. Kennedy Middle 52%
John Yeates Middle 48%
City sixth-graders have fared somewhat better on the mathematics
section of the test than on the reading and writing portions. Scores
indicate the percentage of sixth-graders who passed a given
section.
READING
1995 72%
1994 71%
1993 77%
1992 69%
WRITING
1995 66%
1994 72%
1993 70%
1992 62%
MATHEMATICS
1995 79%
1994 75%
1993 84%
1992 77%
Source: Suffolk School District
KEYWORDS: LITERACY PASSPORT TEST SUFFOLK SCHOOLS RESULTS by CNB