by Brian Orr
HUERFANO- CSAP scores and the resulting school rankings are in from the spring CSAP 2007 test period. They reflect the percentage of students scoring proficient and advanced in each of the areas of reading, writing and math. Testing starts in the third grade.
Every student in Huerfano County schools who took the tests was included in the calculation used to assign a rating, except for students who do not speak English, or who are eligible for the state alternative assessment for students with disabilities, or who were enrolled after Oct. 1.
Re-1’s Gardner School was the standout academic winner for the county. Grades three, four and five are rated excellent, with significant improvement in academic growth. There are five students in third grade, three students in the fourth grade, and six students in the fifth grade. Reading, writing and math Percentages are not given due to the low number of students.
Gardner’s 25 sixth through eighth graders are ranked as high, with improvement in academic growth. In reading they scored 71 percent, compared to the district at 57 percent, and the state at 66 percent. In writing they earned 71 percent, compared to the Re-1 district at 41 percent and the state at 57 percent. In math they scored 75 percent compared to the district at 40 percent and the state at 52 percent.
At Re-1’s Peakview Elementary, only the third grade (36 students) was tested, and earned a ranking of high. In reading, Peakview scored 95 percent, compared to the statewide score of 71 percent. In writing, they scored 76 percent, also significantly higher than the state average of 54 percent. In math, they scored 84 percent, compared to the state’s 68 percent.
Washington School’s overall academic ranking is average, with a significant decline in academic growth.
For grades four through six, the average score in reading was 55 percent, compared to the district at 59 percent, and the state at 68 percent. In writing the students scored 44 percent compared to the district score of 49 percent, and the state at 55 percent. In math they scored 58 percent, compared to the district’s 61 percent and the state at 65 percent.
At John Mall Junior- Senior high school, grades seven and eight (91 students total for the tests) the school is graded average, with stable academic growth.
In reading, the seventh and eighth graders scored 54 percent, compared to the district at 56 percent and the state at 64 percent. In writing they scored 37 percent, the district did 41 percent and the state got 56 percent. In math, they scored 28 percent, compared to the district at 33 percent, and the state average of 48 percent.
Grades nine through twelve at John Mall (with a total of 171 students tested) are ranked average, with a decline in academic growth.
In reading JMHS scored 61 percent, compared to the district at 56 percent and the state at 68 percent. In writing they scored 33 percent, compared to the district at 29 percent and the state at 50 percent. In math JMHS got 20 percent, compared to the district’s 15 and the state’s 33 percent.
La Veta Re-2 is a much smaller school system, with less than 330 students in all the grades, and all the classes contained in one campus.
On testing day La Veta elementary had 19 students in the third grade, 24 students in fourth , 20 students in fifth grade and 22 students in sixth. It is ranked as high academically, with improvement in academic growth. As the district scores are the same as the Re-2 scores, they have been omitted.
In reading, the testing students scored 80 percent, compared to the state average of 68 percent. In writing they scored 71 percent compared to the state average of 55 percent. In math those at proficient and advanced are 81 percent, compared to the state at 66 percent.
The seventh and eighth grades, with 57 students, are ranked as high and stable. In reading, they scored 80 percent, compared to the state average of 64 percent. In writing they scored 65 percent, compared to the state at 56 percent, and in math the junior high-schoolers scored an average of 57 percent, compared to the state average of 48 percent.
The La Veta High School, with 93 students testing, slipped a bit, and are ranked as high, but in decline for academic growth.
In reading the students scored an average of 80 percent, compared to the state average of 68 percent. In writing they scored 46 percent compared to the state at 50 percent, and in math they scored an average in proficiency and advanced of 35 percent, compared to the state average of 33 percent.
