D.C. Public Schools and public charter school students increased their overall test scores by three points in math and six points in reading, according to the 2009 DC Comprehensive Assessment System results that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education released last week. The D.C. Public Schools central office had released a preliminary version of the citywide data in July.
For D.C. Public Schools students, the biggest jump came in elementary school math, where 49 percent of students tested proficient, com- pared with 40 percent last year. Forty-nine percent of elementary school students are proficient in reading, up from 46 percent last year.
Test scores for secondary school students also increased, but less dramatically. Forty-one percent of secondary school students are proficient in reading, a slight increase over last year’s 39 percent. And 40 percent of secondary school students are proficient in math, com- pared with 37 percent last year.
Charter schools, on the other hand, showed the largest gains in secondary school, where 53 percent of students were proficient in reading, up from 47 percent in 2008. Fifty-seven percent were proficient in math, compared with 48 percent the year before.
Elementary-level charter school students advanced slightly in reading, from 45 percent in 2008 to 46 percent this year, and stayed about the same, at 42 percent proficiency in math, from 2008 to 2009.
The newly released numbers also give insight into individual schools’ performances — showing dramatic gains among a handful of Northwest schools.
Specifically, Barnard, Eaton, Marie Reed, Ross, Shepherd and Stoddert elementary schools showed double-digit increases in reading and math proficiency over last year’s scores. Wilson High School’s scores also increased significantly.
According to Ross Elementary principal Amanda Alexander, the test scores are the highest they have ever been at the Dupont Circle school, where 77 percent of students tested proficient in reading and 70 percent tested proficient in math. She said an infusion of “time and attention” into teaching practices and student achievement led to the improvements. In addition to making frequent visits to classrooms, Alexander said she also circulated articles and books about pedagogy to teachers.
At Cleveland Park’s Eaton Elementary, 64 percent of the students were proficient in math in 2008. This year, 80 percent tested proficient. Reading scores also increased, from 74 percent in 2008 to 86 percent in 2009.
Eaton principal Jacqueline Gartrell said she is “thrilled” with the scores and met with teachers on Monday to discuss them.
Gartrell said weekly meetings for teachers in each grade, ongoing professional development and scrutiny of data throughout the year contributed to the gains.
“I think it was a joint effort,” she said. Gartrell commended Eaton’s “really committed” staff and dedicated “instructional supervisor” for their efforts.
In Tenleytown, Wilson High School principal Pete Cahall emphasized that he is “pleased but not satisfied” with the test scores.
In 2009, 72 percent of Wilson students hit the proficiency target in reading, more than the 62 percent who met the mark last year. Sixty- seven percent scored proficient in math, compared with 60 percent in 2008.
Cahall said teachers worked hard to prepare students for the kinds of responses required for the test and monitored test scores throughout the year to keep tabs on their progress.
In addition, Cahall said, he strongly encouraged teachers to strengthen their relationships with students, and he did the same. “I wrote five personal notes to kids every day,” he said. “Anything I could grab on to, to give feedback.”
On Monday, he met with teachers and ticked off a list of “celebrations,” such as the results showing that all “subgroups” advanced their scores in reading.
Asian students showed a 25- point increase, Hispanic students showed a 14-point increase, English language learners showed a 30- point increase, and special education students showed a 12-point increase.
In math, African-American and Hispanic students increased their proficiency rates by 10 percent, while students who qualify for a free and reduced lunch increased their proficiency by 4 percent.
But Cahall said Wilson still has plenty of room for improvement, so that all students are achieving, and achieving equally.
For example, only 58 percent of African-American students are proficient in reading, and 53 percent in math. Seventy percent of Hispanic students are proficient in reading, and 64 percent in math. Sixty-nine percent of Asian students are proficient in reading, and 77 percent in math. Meanwhile, 94 percent of white students are proficient in reading, and 85 percent in math.
Cahall said he plans to use the test scores as a launching pad for a wide array of improvements. “What we need to do is drill down to the individual student,” he said. But “eventually it all goes back to the DC-CAS.”
For Oyster-Adams Bilingual School principal Monica Liang- Aguirre, the 2009 scores were also a mixed bag.
For years, the school — with campuses in Woodley Park and Adams Morgan — has been a jewel of the D.C. Public Schools system. And the 2009 scores remain strong, with 77 percent proficiency in reading and 73 in math.
But for the past two years, Oyster-Adams has failed to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind.
Last year, the school failed to meet the benchmark because it did not show adequate results among two subgroups: English language learners and students from lower- income families.
So, Liang-Aguirre said, teachers worked hard to improve those scores, and succeeded. Both sub-groups made adequate yearly progress this year. “We were very, very happy,” she said.
But this year, the school did not meet adequate yearly progress for special education students. Of the 25 students tested, only 16 percent were proficient in reading, and 20 percent were proficient in math.
“They did not do well at all,” Liang-Aguirre said.
This is the first year the school has identified enough special-education students for their scores to be disaggregated separately, she said. And with no baseline data from previous tests for comparison, the school was unable to make “safe harbor” — an alternative to adequate yearly progress for schools that show a 10 percent reduction in the number of students who are not proficient.
Liang-Aguirre tried to appeal the decision to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, but upon closer review of the data, the agency determined that the school still did not make adequate progress.
Therefore, the school is now in its first year of mandatory improvement under No Child Left Behind.
According to Jennie Niles, “there’s no magic bullet” when it comes to enhancing student achievement. Niles is the founder of E.L. Haynes, a charter school in Petworth where 80 percent of elementary school students scored proficient in math, and 66 percent scored proficient in reading. The school is in the second year of mandatory improvement, having missed the proficiency threshold in reading among its special education students.
“There’s nothing we do that any school couldn’t do,” Niles said.