Overall, the Douglas Unified School District leaders were pleased with the state AIMS test, but there were still select areas, especially in math, that is causing come concern.

The AIMS test is given each spring and students wishing to graduate from high school are required to pass the test.

The district also received labeling from both the state and federal education departments based on AIMS and other areas.

“We had four underperforming  schools last year, this year only two,” said School District Superintendent Earl Pettit.

There were also two schools that did not make the “Average Yearly Progress (AYP)” label placed on them by the federal government,

Joe Carlson Elementary School and Ray Borane Middle School were still listed as underperforming after final tabulations of the last AIMS testing score.

Borane has been listed as “underperforming” by the state the last three years, and Carlson four out of the last five years.

Last year they were joined by Sarah Marley and Clawson elementary schools. The year, Clawson was given a label of “Performing” while Sarah Marley jumped all the way to “Performing Plus.”

Curriculum Director Leann Marston said “Everything we did this past year was an effort to put us in position to do well.”

“Even though two of the schools were still listed as under performing, we saw gains. Ray Borane students’ scores had significant gains this year.

“I am most proud of the job staff did at Sarah Marley. They were under performing and did not meet AYP last year. Now they are Performing Plus and are meeting AYP,” Marston said.

“One of the primary reasons for the AYP problems at Carlson and Borane schools is apparent once you look at the breakdowns. The English Language Learner program put in place by the state this past year had a negative impact on scoring even though it has done well in the school.

Students that are unable to pass an English Proficiency class are placed in a class which spend four hours a day, through the curriculum, reinforcing English, reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Marston said that while the program does a good job reinforcing and teaching English skills, it is not necessarily focused on AIMS standards, so those students in the programs may have trouble with the test.

The biggest overall improvement this year came in writing at Borane Middle School.  In 2008, only 47 percent of the students taking the test either met or exceeded the AIMS standards. This year that number jumped to 70 percent.

Marston credits a new writing program in the school with assisting in getting the improved grades.

“Math is still troublesome. We have hired match coaches for each of the middle schools and one coach to be split among the elementary schools.”

It is Marston’s hope that the district may be able to hire enough math coaches to have one at each school.

“The district has implemented a new math program over the last year, and some of the schools having problems haven’t used the new curriculum. The new program is much more closely aligned with the state standards. There is more hands-on learning with the new program,” Pettit said

While some may not completely understand or be in favor of the state’s AIMS testing program, Pettit said that the positive effect could easily be seen. “Academic achievement is up, Attendance is up, and graduation rate is up.

“I am proud of the district students and teachers and the job they did this year. We now need to keep moving in that direction.”

Third, fourth and fifth grade students in the elementary schools took the test. All three grades – sixth, seventh and eighth grades took the test in middle school while in high school they begin taking the test in 10th grade and continue taking it until they pass.

Following is a summary of the performance of each of the schools in the AIMS test and federal labeling:

Faras Elementary – Made AYP and Performing

In writing, Faras did well, increasing to 66 percent of the students who met or exceeded the standards – a 20 percent jump— in third grade while maintaining fourth and fifth grade levels.

In reading, Faras students had mixed scores, again increasing 20 percent in third grade, but dropping 10 percent in fourth grade.

In Math, fourth grade again dropped by a large margin – 16 percent.

Overall they are at or near Douglas Unified School District and state scores, except for writing, where the number of students meeting or exceeding standards is significantly lower than the state.

Joe Carlson Elementary School – Made AYP and underperforming

In writing, the number of students meeting or exceeding standards dipped by 16 percent, while fourth and fifth grade increased slightly.

In reading, students were at about the same levels as the previous year.

In Math, fourth grade students meeting or exceeding standards dipped by 9 percent, while fifth grade jumped by 11 percent.

Overall, Third grader are meeting standards at or about DUSD and state standards, but fourth and fifth grades are below those averages, and in some cases significantly below. In reading, the same trend continues, with third graders doing well, but fourth and fifth grades dropping. In Math, the number of students meeting standards is significantly lower in fourth and fifth grades. On the average, the school has 20 percent fewer students meeting and exceeding the standards in math compared to the rest of the state.

Clawson Elementary – Did not make AYP and Performing

In reading, third through fifth grade students did well, with an average of a 10 percent gain in the number of students meeting or exceeding standards.

In writing, the scores reflected the same trend. In Math, fourth graders showed a dip in standards but fifth graders did 10 percent better than their predecessors.

Overall, while there were big increases, fourth and fifth graders in reading and writing performed well below their state counterparts, while in math third and fourth graders performed under the state average, but fifth graders performed only one percentage point below the state average.

Stevenson Elementary – Made AYP and Performing Plus

In writing, Stevenson students in fourth and fifth grade saw slight increases, while third grade had a slight dip in the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards.

In reading, students were at or near the same levels they tested out at last year,

But in math, students did much more poorly than the previous year, dropping by an average of more than 10 percent in third and fourth grades.

Overall, students meeting or exceeding state standards were at or near state levels in writing and math, but slightly under in third and fourth grade reading.

Sarah Marley Elementary - Made AYP – Performing Plus

In writing, reading and math, third graders taking the test did much more poorly than they did the previous year. In each case 16 percent fewer students either met or exceeded the state standards.

Fourth graders did much better, increasing their passing rate by 28 percent in writing, 18 percent in reading and 7 percent in math.

In fifth grade they did just as well as last year in writing, but saw jumps of 29 and 28 percent in reading, and math, respectively.

Third graders performed below DUSD and state averages in all three subject areas, while fourth and fifth grades exceeded DUSD and state averages in writing, and met or exceeded DUSD levels in reading and math, but were slightly below state averages.

Huber Middle School -AYP and Performing.

In writing, Huber Middle School students did well in all three grades, increasing the percentage that met or exceeded standards. In sixth and seventh grades, students passed at a rate 20 percent higher than last year.

In reading, seventh graders did well, but sixth and eighth graders were at or near the same levels as last year.

In math, students performed at or about the same levels as last year.

Overall, Students exceeded the DUSD levels, but are still lagging behind the state average in writing. The same can be said for the reading testing as well as math. Huber students meeting or exceeding state standards are lagging about 10 percent behind state averages.

Borane Middle School- Did not make AYP and Under Performing

There were significant gains in sixth and seventh graders taking the writing test. A total of 37 and 38 percent more sixth and seventh grade students passed the AIMS test compared to last year. Eighth grade students were slightly ahead of last year’s levels.

While the students in seventh grade did well in the reading portion, sixth and eighth grades students saw a drop.

In Math, the same trend continued with seventh graders scores jumping up, but drops in sixth and eighth.

Overall, Sixth and seventh grade students taking the writing test were at or near DUSD levels, but were still significantly lower than the state average. It was even more pronounced in reading. In some cases the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards were at half or less of the state average.

The same occurred in sixth and eighth grade math.

Douglas High School – Made AYP and Performing Plus

Tenth grade scores are only reported for high school.

In writing and reading, the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards were at approximately the same levels, while in math, the high school had a 7 percent increase.

Overall, district high school students are at or near state averages in all three subjects.