More than half of Granite School District's elementary schools scored lower this year than last on the annual statewide Stanford Achievement Tests. The tests are administered each fall to all Utah children in grades five, eight and 11.
Thirty-six of the Granite elementaries had lower percentile scores; 23 increased their scores, and others remained the same. Each year, a different group of children takes the test, and score variations of only a few points generally do not mean much, since many factors, including just a few exceptionally bright or exceptionally slow children, can affect a class average.The average percentile for the fifth-graders slipped two points, from 52 to 50. The national norm, derived by giving the same test to several hundred thousand students across the country, is 50. Children who take the test are compared to the norming group.Granite officials say they will make a detailed analysis of the 1993 scores and try to pinpoint weaknesses.
"We will be doing an item analysis to see what needs to be done. Overall, I feel we maintained our standing, but we're never fully satisfied with the results. There's always room for improvement," said Superintendent Loren G. Burton.
At the eighth-grade level, the district average was 48, compared with 50 last year. This year's average is two points below the national norm. But there were fewer cases of a school score rising or falling dramatically.
Dr. Darryl Thomas, district testing specialist, said he believes there may be "an attitude problem" among the eighth-graders, who are in the difficult early teen years anyway. Many of them don't see why their grade is singled out for the statewide tests, he said.
The scores at both Brockbank and Jefferson junior high schools, which were put on year-round schedules this year in a controversial district decision, dropped this year, and both scored below their expected ranges. Thomas said it is not possible to determine if the year-round status is a factor in the drop in scores.
Whether a general increase in gangs and school violence in the Salt Lake area, particularly at the junior high school level, is affecting scores also is a factor that needs study, he said.
The expected range of scores for each school is developed by the State Office of Education based on how many children are eligible for free school lunch or who are receiving state welfare aid. Socioeconomic factors are generally reliable predictors of how well or how poorly children will perform.
"These tests really are a test of a child's home-support system," said Thomas. Children of well-educated, economically secure parents who are in turn involved in their child's education traditionally outscore their peers on such tests, he said.
Some of the most dramatic score increases can be explained by special programs in particular schools, Thomas said. He cited Canyon Rim, which saw the composite score jump by 23 percentile points. A special program is being initiated at the school, giving the children an enriched curriculum.
A single teacher also can make a difference, particularly in a small school, he said. At Webster Elementary, an outstanding teacher contributed to improved scores for 1991 and 1992. The teacher is no longer at the school, and the fifth-grade score dropped this year by 25 percentile points. After two years of being at or near the top of the expected range, Webster dropped below this year.
Thomas said he feels that Granite's 11th-graders show that the district's "end product" is good. At that level, the average was 55 - five points above the national norm.
Both Burton and Thomas said they are concerned that Granite students - like their peers across the state - score below national norms in English and language arts portions of the standardized test.
The state should perhaps focus the same attention on these curriculum areas as has been devoted to math and science in recent years, Thomas said. Utah children tend to score above national averages in most science and math tests.
The English/language arts weaknesses appear to be related to failure to teach children the fundamentals of grammar, punctuation and spelling, Thomas said. Some teachers bent on encouraging children to be creative writers may be overlooking the basics for fear of stifling the creative element.
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(Chart)
SAT results
Granite School District
School Total Battery 1993
1991 1992 1993 Change Expected
Range
Fifth Grade
Academy Park 38 46 33 -13 40-64**
Arcadia 54 58 54 -4 44-68
Bacchus 43 62 51 -11 44-68
Beehive 47 39 39 0 40-64**
Bennion 66 62 58 -4 47-72
Bridger 53 46 33 -13 40-64**
Canyon Rim 64 52 72 +20 40-64*
Copper Hills 40 51 50 -1 38-62
Cottonwood 70 72 76 +4 52-78
Crestview 79 79 84 +5 48-73*
Driggs 71 68 59 -9 50-75
Eastwood 73 76 61 -15 51-76
Libbie Edward 64 63 67 +4 39-63*
Farnsworth 35 46 44 -2 38-62
Fox Hills 62 58 55 -3 44-68
Fremont 56 51 59 +8 38-62
Frost 43 61 59 -2 44-68
Gourley 51 50 50 0 40-63
Granger 44 26 26 0 33-56**
Hill View 51 59 45 -14 40-64
Hillsdale 36 32 40 +8 33-56
Hillside 47 38 44 +6 41-66
Holladay 68 62 72 +10 45-70*
Hunter 53 52 44 -8 39-63
Jackling 50 59 37 -22 38-62**
Lake Ridge 37 40 32 -8 37-60**
Lincoln 38 23 37 +14 28-50
Magna 40 33 48 +15 37-60
Meadow Moor 74 67 56 -11 47-72
Mill Creek 60 46 38 -8 37-60
Monroe 43 39 37 -2 29-51
Morningside 80 75 79 +4 51-76*
Moss 27 45 38 -8 30-53
Oakridge 83 76 86 +11 52-77*
Oakwood 66 66 66 0 50-74
Oquirrh Hills 37 44 40 -4 36-59
Orchard 44 37 32 -5 41-66**
William Penn 59 67 61 -6 48-73
Pioneer 37 56 33 -23 33-55
Pleasant Green 50 50 47 -3 37-60
Plymouth 46 53 51 -2 47-72
Redwood 27 31 36 +5 22-41
Rolling Meadows 64 58 53 -5 37-60
Roosevelt 43 37 27 -10 29-51**
Rosecrest 64 66 69 +3 47-72
Sandburg 46 45 40 -5 39-63
Silver Hills 53 50 40 -10 40-64
Calvin Smith 60 68 63 -5 48-73
South Kearns 33 26 44 +18 31-53
Stansbury 33 25 22 -3 28-50
Taylorsville 68 53 41 -12 44-68**
Truman 59 58 53 -5 50-74
Twin Peaks 63 60 67 +7 47-72
Upland Terrace 79 72 75 +3 51-76
Valley Crest 46 37 51 +14 40-64
Vista 46 63 51 -12 45-69
Webster 32 40 15 -25 21-40**
West Kearns 28 28 28 0 30-52**
Westbrook 55 50 53 +3 44-68
Western Hills 56 48 58 +10 36-59
Whittier 43 39 46 +7 43-67
Wilson 26 27 27 0 26-47
Woodstock 61 61 64 +3 50-74
Total Fifth Grade 53 52 50 -2 46-61
Eighth Grade
Bennion 53 55 56 +1 45-65
Bonneville 61 60 61 +1 45-67
Brockbank 42 40 32 -8 34-54**
Churchill 63 64 61 -3 48-70
Eisenhower 50 44 48 +4 40-61
Evergreen 53 57 59 +2 42-63
Granite Park 31 34 30 -4 28-47
Hunter 45 40 43 +3 39-60
Jefferson 44 38 29 -9 39-59**
Kearns 37 42 38 -6 36-55
Kennedy 43 43 44 +1 40-60
Olympus 65 72 70 -2 45-67*
Valley 44 49 39 -10 43-63**
Wasatch 72 71 73 +2 47-67*
West Lake 38 37 40 +3 32-53
Total Eighth Grade 49 50 48 -2 44-59
Eleventh Grade
Cottonwood 58 62 62 0 50-68
Cyprus 43 44 46 +2 42-62
Granger 51 50 43 -7 42-61
Granite 39 36 38 +2 39-58**
Hunter 48 50 48 -2 43-63
Kearns 48 44 48 +4 41-61
Olympus 67 70 67 -3 50-68
Skyline 69 70 71 +1 51-69*
Taylorsville 57 57 55 -2 48-66
Total Eleventh Grade
55 55 55 0 48-61
Above expected range **Below expected range