Student scores on the 1997 Stanford Achievement Test in affluent Park City rank among the best in the state. Students in North and South Summit school districts also did well overall on the new version of the national test.
Park City
In its first year, Ecker Hill Middle School had some of the highest SAT scores in the district.
"It's a new school and the teachers have a great deal of enthusiasm," said Stephena Renyan, Park City School District director of curriculum. "They're very positive and are trying to make the school work."
The school's students scored a total battery score of 69, 19 points above the national average. They also scored above the 70th percentile in mathematics, reading and social science. Language arts/English was the weakest subject with a score of 66.
But every school in the district struggled with the test's language arts category.
"The language scores are something we definitely need to work on," Renyan said. "We're going to have to identify the problem and change the curriculum to compete in the subject."
Ecker Hill's principal Randy Olsen said the high scores have set a high standard at the new school.
"It gives us a good baseline to work from and a high mark to meet every year, but I'm excited about it," Olsen said.
The district had one middle school until this year. Ecker Hill was built to meet the growing Park City population.
Park City High School - known for its high SAT scores - scored in the upper 60s and lower 70s in every subject but one. Students got a 59 in the language arts/English category. The relatively low score drove the total battery down to the 68th percentile.
The school doesn't usually have a problem with the subject, principal Hale Smith said. It may have been the new version of the SAT that tripped up the students.
If the low score in language arts/English becomes a trend, administrators at the school will do something to change the curriculum, Smith said.
Smith said a number of factors help Park City schools score among the highest in the state: financial support from the community, parent involvement and the socio-economic advantage the students have in the wealthy area.
The residents are also supportive of bond initiatives that benefit education, he added. Park City Ski Resort donates $25,000 a year for college scholarships. Seniors compete for that money and more than $30,000 in scholarship money contributed by other businesses.
As for the test, the new version of the SAT asked more questions related to everyday, life problem-solving questions, Renyan said. She praised it, saying it better prepared students for life.
North Summit
North Summit schools scored high in the math and science areas but struggled with language arts/English and writing.
"We've consistently scored high in math," said Jon Warnick, a math teacher at North Summit High School. "Kids here like math for some reason. Many take it the four years they're in high school when it's only required for two."
Math and science teachers try to make the material interesting so the students will want to learn, he said. It's not just a teacher writing formulas on a chalkboard. The instructors incorporate computers and calculators into the curriculum to make it more exciting.
North Summit High has a 25-member math team that competes with other Utah high schools. The team has taken state three consecutive years, Warnick said.
The district's fifth-graders scored the lowest of the three schools in math with an impressive 67. Students at North Summit Middle School recorded a whopping 78 - 28 points above the national norm - while the 11th-graders ranked in the 73rd percentile. That means the middle school students scored better than 78 percent of the students nationally, and the high school students scored better than 73 percent of the students in the national group.
Many North Summit students go on to college and do well, especially in the math and science areas, added Sandy Jaussi, a middle school counselor who administers the SAT tests.
The district's weakest subjects involve writing. The three schools scored in the mid-40s in nearly every writing-related topic.
"We're not too worried about that," Jaussi said. "Obviously, we would like those scores to be higher, but they're still in a good range."
If the scores continue to be lower in that topic, the district may have to examine the curriculum, she said.
"This is a new test, and we'll use it as a starting point," Jaussi said. "We'll watch the trends as we go along over the next few years."
North Summit uses other methods to evaluate students, in addition to the national test, Jaussi said. It also looks at individual students and their improvement from year to year. That gauges whether a student is learning.
South Summit
Elementary students in Summit County struggled with the SAT, but the middle and high school students did better - scoring above the national norm in every category.
"The juniors and the eighth-graders did extremely well," said Superintendent Mark Littleford. "But we're struggling with the English/language arts scores. We've had a difficult time with those subjects in the past."
The fifth-graders scored below the national average in three of the five categories: social science, reading and language arts. The eighth- and 11th-graders scored above the national average in every topic.
It's a possibility that this year's fifth-grade class doesn't test well, he said. Instructors will watch to see if the trend continues.
Administrators will take action to try to improve the curriculum in the topics just in case.
The district plans to implement workshops and summer classes to help South Summit Elementary students on the topics with which they struggle, Littleford said.
The key to improve the test scores is to change the curriculum to meet what's on the test, he said.
"I'm not saying we are going to teach what's on the SAT, but we do need to align the curriculum more closely to the material on the test," he said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SAT results: Park City School District
... Total battery Expected range
Fifth Grade
Jeremy Ranch 67 49-71
McPolin 66 45-67
Parley's Park 60 48-70
District 66 55-65
Statewide 50 NA
Eighth Grade
Treasure Mountain 60 50-69
Ecker Hill's 69 NA
District 65 56-67
Statewide 54
Eleventh Grade
Park City 68 53-72
District 68 60-69
Statewide 60 NA
The national norm is 50. The total battery includes reading, math, language arts/English, science, social science, and thinking skills.
*****
SAT results: North Summit School District
... Total battery Expected range
Fifth Grade
North Summit 59 52-62
District 59 52-62
Statewide 50 NA
Eighth Grade
North Summit 62 48-67
District 62 48-67
Statewide 54 NA
11th Grade
North Summit 61 57-67
District 61 57-67
Statewide 60 NA
The national norm is 50. The total battery includes reading, math, language arts/English, science, social science, and thinking skills.
*****
SAT results: South Summit School District
... Total battery Expected range
Fifth Grade
South Summit 53 44-67
District 50 47-67
Statewide 50 NA
Eighth Grade
South Summit 57 44-67
District 57 47-67
Statewide 54 NA
11th Grade
South Summit 60 50-70
District 60 50-70
Statewide 60 NA
The national norm is 50. The total battery includes reading, math, language arts/English, science, social science, and thinking skills.