Huddled in the hallways of a South Jordan elementary school, a big kid and a little kid pore over the pages of a book.
The Book Buddy program, which brings together first-graders and second-graders with fifth- and sixth-grade students, may be one reason why Jordan Ridge Elementary improved its reading scores significantly in Stanford Achievement Tests taken this fall.Scores released recently by Jordan School District show fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade students performing above the national score in all cases and above the Utah state ranking in most cases.
"We don't have a lot of peaks and valleys. We're covering all of our bases," said Cal Newbold, head of testing in the state's second-largest school district.
As it is with most schools around the country, the reading segment of the "Reading, Writing and 'rithmatic" mantra is also the Achilles heel of the state's second-largest district. "We're still a little concerned about the reading scores in the lower grades," Newbold said.
Of 47 Jordan elementary schools, 21 improved their reading scores as compared to last year. Scores remained the same at five schools and dropped at 21 others.
And although Jordan Ridge principal, Charles Jeppson, would rather credit an especially bright group of students, several factors, such as the Book Buddies program, probably contributed to testing successes.
Like many others schools, Jordan Ridge has a home reading program that rewards students with school "bucks" for flipping pages at home.
And despite a nationwide discussion about the literature-based "whole language" approach to teaching reading versus the basics of spelling, grammar and phonics, Jeppson values the whole language approach his teachers have used.
Jeppson knows there is concern in the education arena that teachers "have swung too far away" from the basics and into the whole language style of reading, which teaches grammar, writing and spelling by reading the text of a book.
This is different than working on the long "e" sound on one day, another vowel on another, Jeppson said. It does help to have children read a simplified version of a classic book, like "The Carrot Seed," he said.
Jordan Ridge scored a 68th percentile in reading, 13 points above last year's 55th percentile. The national norm is 50 for each testing category - mathematics, reading, language, science, social science and a composite battery score.
Districtwide test results include the following highlights:
- Middle-school students seem more comfortable with test-tube experiments, dissections and other chemistry and biology practices. Eighth-graders jumped five points, from 53rd percentile to 58, in the science category.
- After bouncing up and down in English during the past few years, 11th-graders rebounded from 51st percentile to score a 58 this year.
- Through the grades, students still aren't too crazy about civics but perform above the national average in the social science category, which includes questions about geography, history, political science, economics and thinking skills.
Eleventh-graders dropped six points four years ago and have stayed put at the 56th percentile. Fifth-grade scores dropped three years ago from the 55th percentile to 51 and haven't changed in the social science category. Middle-school students have turned in consistent scores - a 54th percentile for six consecutive years.
- Scores did not plummet among Jordan's fifth-graders, but tallies for most categories fell in the lower half of the expected performance range.
- Battery scores for 11th-graders, which take into account scores for all categories, have increased incrementally since 1990. Students received a 57th percentile overall in 1990; a 58th percentile in 1992; 60th percentile in 1995 and 61st percentile this year.
Under direction of newly appointed Superintendent Barry Newbold, the district will mount a districtwide effort to better reading scores. The district isn't mandating any certain system, but all schools are looking at the best way to get students reading and understanding more.
Attention to this area should improve scores, much as the focus on science curriculum has improved those scores in recent years, Cal Newbold said.
But there are other societal factors that can sway the scores, as Midvale Elementary Principal Steven Giles knows.
More than 80 percent of Midvale's students leave or change schools during the year, so students are constantly coming and going. This creates upheaval for both students and teachers, Giles said.
Although Midvale had the district's lowest SAT scores in all categories, Giles said, other testing measures are more encouraging. For example, tests that track the school's stable population show significant improvements among first-graders.
Students who started the year with 25 percent of answers correct on reading tests improved to 71 percent; this same group started with 37 percent correct on math tests and improved to 80 percent by year's end.
Giles has also restructured the way students take advantage of various federal and state programs directed toward students at schools identified with problems like Midvale's.
About 92 percent of Midvale's students qualify for free or reduced lunch. This factor is often used to identify poverty within a school's boundaries. A high percentage of Midvale students also speak English only as a second language.
In the past, the English as a Second Language programs, special education, resource and other supplemental educational programs have taken place outside of a child's home room. Now everyone stays put, according to Giles.
He took all the money from Midvale's designation as a "highly impacted" school with at-risk students and has reduced the teacher/student ratio to about 1 to 10 in the first grades and 1 to 16 in the upper grades.
These efforts, he said, should bolster scores in the future.
"It is a little disheartening," to see the low SAT scores, Giles said. "We're working on it."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SAT results: Jordan School District
Language Total
School Reading arts battery Change* Expected Range
Fifth Grade
Alta View 60 55 54 -12 37-63
Altara 57 64 62 -7 50-77
Bell View 50 48 50 +3 41-68
Bella Vista 53 55 54 -6 47-74
Bluffdale 49 45 50 -3 44-72
Brookwood 63 55 67 +6 51-79
Butler 61 64 59 -8 50-78
Canyon View 61 57 68 +4 48-75
Columbia 51 48 46 +6 39-66
Copperview 25 27 25 +2 28-52
Cottonwood Heights 61 57 63 +2 45-72
Crescent 55 57 54 -7 44-71
Draper 47 48 45 +5 46-74
East Midvale 53 45 51 +16 33-59
East Sandy 60 52 54 +11 43-69
Edgemont 50 57 48 +4 40-68
Granite 63 64 62 -2 50-77
Heartland 43 39 40 +3 31-56
Jordan Ridge 68 75 78 +15 51-79
Lone Peak 60 52 59 -8 52-80
Majestic 47 32 39 -9 33-59
Midvale 8 13 10 -2 13-30
Midvalley 39 34 36 -8 40-68
Monte Vista 51 55 56 +9 50-77
Mountain Shadows 50 48 48 -10 45-73
Mountview 49 52 47 -4 40-68
Oakdale 57 48 56 -7 50-77
Oquirrh 51 52 51 +1 39-66
Park Lane 69 64 69 +5 51-79
Peruvian Park 78 75 76 -9 46-74
Quail Hollow 63 57 66 -4 51-79
Ridgecrest 63 55 59 +4 45-73
Riverside 55 55 47 +7 39-66
Riverton 53 55 60 +12 44-71
Rosamond 50 52 50 -3 46-74
Sandy 25 36 30 +1 30-54
Silver Mesa 60 57 61 -5 48-75
South Jordan 53 55 54 -8 50-77
Southland 55 61 61 -5 47-74
Sprucewood 55 52 59 +1 48-75
Sunrise 55 52 55 -12 50-78
Terra Linda 40 42 39 -1 38-63
Welby 60 64 63 +5 48-75
West Jordan 45 45 48 -3 44-71
Westland 57 48 63 +7 43-69
Westvale 55 55 56 +9 45-72
Willow Canyon 57 61 61 0 50-77
Total Fifth Grade 55 55 55 0 53-68
Eighth Grade
Albion 66 59 63 -2 47-71
Butler 66 63 69 +2 45-69
Crescent View 53 56 55 0 44-68
Eastmont 59 56 53 +5 43-67
Elk Ridge 59 48 51 +1 40-64
Indian Hills 62 59 60 +4 47-71
Joel P. Jensen 51 45 44 -5 39-62
Midvale 51 45 53 -6 25-48
Mount Jordan 51 56 53 +8 36-59
Oquirrh Hills 57 48 54 +1 44-67
South Jordan 62 59 64 0 47-71
Union 55 56 59 +2 40-64
West Hills 45 39 38 NA 39-62
West Jordan 49 41 43 -5 38-61
Total Eighth Grade 57 52 55 0 48-61
Eleventh Grade
Alta 65 58 64 -1 50-70
Bingham 61 58 60 0 47-68
Brighton 72 64 72 +1 50-70
Copper Hills 51 45 50 -5 42-64
Hillcrest 65 58 60 +2 42-64
Jordan 61 51 57 +4 42-64
Valley** 40 23 24 -1 NA
West Jordan 58 58 56 +3 42-64
Total Eleventh Grade 61 58 61 +1 51-63
The national norm is 50.
*Change reflects the increase or decrease in total battery score from 1995. The total battery includes math, reading, language arts/English, study skills and, in Grades 5 and 8, listening.
**Alternative school
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Other results coming
The Deseret News will publish some results from the 1996 Stanford Achievement Test, which is mandated by the Utah Legislature as a measure of school accountability.
The SAT, a norm-referenced test, does not have a passing grade. It uses a median, not an average. Relying on a national norm known as the 50th percentile, half the students taking the SAT scored above this percentile, with the other half scoring below it.
Taking into account socioeconomic and other factors, the state sets an expected test-score range for each school and district.
This year the Deseret News is publishing the reading and English/language arts scores in addition to total battery scores. Over the past few years, educators have worried about low scores in these subjects.
The school-by-school scores will be published for the following districts:
Today - Jordan School District.
Sunday, Dec. 29 - Salt Lake City School District.
Monday, Dec. 30 - Davis School District.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 - Alpine School District.
Wednesday, Jan. 1 - Provo and Nebo school districts.
Thursday, Jan. 2 - Murray and Tooele school districts.
Friday, Jan. 3 - Park City, North and South Summit school districts.