McPolin Elementary isn't Park City's bright and shining star on the 2001 Stanford Achievement Test.
In fact, it's kind of in the middle of the pack in terms of elementary school performance.
But McPolin certainly did shatter state expectations for how well its students would do. And it did so with rapidly changing demographics: Nearly a third of its students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch and about 25 percent of students speak English as a second language.
Deseret News graphic
SAT Results: Park City School District
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"I'm very pleased with our students' scores" published by the state, principal Linda Johnson said. "We have an outstanding staff, and Park City puts a lot of emphasis in making sure we have a well-rounded curriculum."
The SAT is intended to show how well Utah students stack up against a national norm group. It is required of all third-, fifth-, eighth- and 11th-graders under Utah law.
The law was recently beefed up to include the SAT in a series of tests required under the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students. U-PASS, as it's called, is the state's attempt to hold schools more accountable for student achievement. All test-score data is publicly reported.
SAT scores are expressed in percentiles, not percentages. The national median is the 50th percentile. Scores in the 60th percentile are considered exceptional; those in the 40th percentile, cause for concern.
Park City School District scores show several bright spots.
All but three total battery scores surpassed expected scoring ranges, set based on how many students qualify for federally subsidized school lunch. And even those scores were at the high end of the bandwidth: the 71st percentile for Jeremy Ranch Elementary third-graders, the 69th percentile for Ecker Hill Middle School eighth-graders and the 67th percentile for Park City High School.
"I think it shows the continuing high instructional activities that are going on in our schools and with staff members," district curriculum and instruction director Merry Haugen said.
Treasure Mountain Middle School's eighth-grade class outscored expected ranges and achieved as high as the 91st percentile in math — an almost unheard-of result for an entire school on the SAT.
McPolin third-graders also scored above expected ranges in every subtest, including 20 points above the expected range in math and 12 points above the expected range in complete battery scores. McPolin fifth-grade data show similar patterns.
McPolin has after-school programs, from arts to tutoring, that help enrich students' education. Technology is readily available: Computers are stationed in every classroom, and the lab has enough computers for everyone. Parents and community members also regularly volunteer in the school.
"I think that all helps," Johnson said.
E-MAIL: jtcook@desnews.com