Total 1993 battery test scores for Salt Lake City's fifth- and eighth-graders fell to their lowest in four years of testing, while scores for 11th-graders slipped one percentage point from last year's scores back to 1990 levels.
The district exceeded the national averages on the 11th-grade level in all areas of testing except language/English. And 11th-grade scores were at the upper end of the expected range of percentile ranks of Utah schools serving similar populations - and exceeded that level in math, reading and total basic battery.The fifth-graders were in the middle of the expected range, and the eighth-graders were in the middle-to-upper end of the expected range, except in math.
But the fifth- and eighth-grade levels were below the state average in all areas of testing: math, reading, language/English, science and social science.
Seventeen of the district's 27 elementary schools - or 63 percent - had lower test scores than last year, as did four of the five junior high schools. Two of the three high schools had lower test scores.
Scores varied from one school to the next. Some received scores that varied one or two points from last year, while others saw double-digit differences.
Harold Trussel, the district's acting superintendent for the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, said there no doubt are many reasons for the declines, but perhaps the most important is a substantial rise in the number of low-income families.
The Salt Lake School District has seen a 7 percent increase this year in students who come from homes that qualify for free school lunch and receive Aid to Families With Dependent Children.
Education experts say the most significant predictor of success on standardized achievement tests is the socioeconomic and educational attainments of the family.
"When you look at the demographics, it kind of makes you a little sad to see the number of people classified as being in the low-income area," Trussel said.
Frequently, low-income families have trouble meeting the rent and move a great deal, often one step ahead of the landlord. This can pose educational hardships for children who may be in and out of several schools in one year.
There also are increasing numbers of children from single-parent families.
Divorce or lack of money by themselves don't doom students to poor test performances, but a combination of problems can spell trouble for families - and that often is reflected in how well students do, the experts say.
"In Salt Lake City, when the demographics go down, it does make a difference," Trussel said. "Education has to be a community effort."
Trussel said district officials don't want to put the blame entirely on conditions outside school for the lower test scores, but he said social and economic factors cannot be ignored.
"The high schools are at the top of those bands (ranges for schools with similar populations). Other schools are in the middle or the high end, but that's not good enough," Trussel said. "Our concern is what can we do so students acquire the skills they need to succeed in life."
One phenomenon that district officials can't explain is a drop in test scores for certain elementary schools in middle-class or more affluent areas - Indian Hills (down nine points from last year), Dilworth (down 19 points), Rosslyn Heights (down 10 points) and Highland Park (down 10 points).
Trussel cautioned that the standardized tests show only one piece of the overall educational picture.
"You have to take it in perspective - they are one measure of student achievement," Trussel said. "They do not tell the whole picture."
For example, standardized tests do not explain anything about writing skills or speaking ability, and give little information about reasoning powers, problem solving or creativity.
Trussel said district officials plan to examine these scores along with many other assessments of student achievement.
Some changes may be in the offing, depending on what the overall analysis shows. Among other things, Trussel said district officials will hold an update session on the district's strategic plan.
The testing was mandated by the Legislature, and tests were given statewide in the fifth, eighth and 11th grades. Students took the Stanford Achievement Test, Eighth Edition. The national norm is 50.
The 1,846 fifth-graders who took the test got a total basic battery of 50, while the state's basic battery for fifth grade was 54.
The 1,819 eighth-graders who took the test got a basic battery of 48, while the state's was 51.
The 1,388 11th-graders who took the test did better than the state median in math and reading, did the same in science, but scored lower in social science and language/English. Their basic battery was 57, while the state's was 56.
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(Additional information)
Murray School District scores on the annual statewide Stanford Achievement Tests were above the state average and improved from 1992 scores. See Page B4.
SAT results
Salt Lake School District
Total Battery 1993 Expected
School 1991 1992 1993 Change Range
Fifth Grade
Backman 41 46 39 -7 24-44
Beacon Heights 66 53 59 +6 40-64
Bennion 39 70 53 -17 21-40
Bennion
Neighborhood 11 36 22 -14 21-40
Bennion ELP*** 91 93 93 0 NA***
Bonneville 81 69 83 +14 53-79*
Dilworth 71 72 53 -19 45-70
Edison 28 36 28 -8 15-31
Emerson 45 56 43 -13 33-56
Ensign 81 77 73 -4 51-76
Franklin 10 16 18 +2 13-29
Hawthrone 56 45 44 -1 29-51
Highland Park 64 63 53 -10 44-69
Indian Hills 77 83 74 -9 50-74
Jackson 30 30 16 -14 15-30
Lincoln 15 23 19 -4 12-27
Lowell 87 91 86 -5 38-62
Lowell
Neighborhood 59 78 73 -5 38-62*
Lowell ELP*** 98 97 96 -1 NA***
Meadowlark 40 35 25 -10 30-52
Mountain View 21 29 30 +1 24-44
Newman 51 41 41 0 38-62
Nibley Park 44 30 32 +2 30-52
Parkview 28 24 24 0 16-33
Riley 28 38 24 -14 20-38
Riley
Neighborhood 19 32 20 -12 20-38
Riley PACE**** 41 56 45 -11 NA****
Rose Park 28 41 35 -6 30-52
Rosslyn Heights 80 83 73 -10 51-76
Uintah 68 74 69 -5 51-76
Wasatch 77 74 74 0 45-69*
Washington 37 33 44 +11 20-39
Washington
Neighborhood 29 28 37 +9 20-39
Washington Open
Classroom 70 46 71 +25 NA****
Whittier 24 23 30 +7 19-37
Total Fifth Grade 53 53 50 38-52
Eighth Grade
Bryant 69 69 53 -16 32-51*
Clayton 67 59 62 +3 38-59*
Glendale 28 24 21 -3 18-34
Hillside 60 62 60 -2 38-59*
Northwest 34 37 30 -7 25-44
West ELP 96 96 91 -5 NA
Total Eighth 53 55 48 38-51
Eleventh Grade
East 62 64 58 -6 39-58
Highland 57 55 60 +5 39-58*
West 61 63 60 -3 38-57*
Salt Lake
Community**** 19 23 16 -7 NA
Total
Eleventh Grade 55 58 57 39-52*
*Above expected range
**Below expected range
***Contains districtwide Extended Learning Program for gifted students
****Alternative program or school