ISTEP scores are up

Jay County students showed improvement across the board in the 2010 ISTEP test.

"We're very pleased," Superintendent Tim Long said this morning. "We went up in 11 out of 12 categories. We're still crunching the numbers, but we showed improvement."

On a districtwide basis, 71.7 percent of Jay third graders passed both the language arts and math portion of the test, 71.8 percent of fourth graders passed the language arts and math portions and 87.8 percent passed the science portion.

At the fifth grade level, 76.2 percent passed the language arts and math portion and 65.7 percent passed the social studies section. At the sixth grade level, 65.4 percent passed language arts and math while 62.7 percent passed science.

At the seventh grade level, 66.9 percent passed the language arts and math section while 68.1 percent passed social studies. At the eighth grade level, 65.3 percent passed language arts and math.

Jay students' improvement mirrored improved test scores on a statewide basis.

"One year doesn't make a trend," Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett said in an Indianapolis press conference. "But one year does give us a platform to take off."

Bennett's goal is to have 90 percent of Indiana students in grades 3 through 8 pass both the math and English exams by 2012. He said the goal remains attainable.

See ISTEP page 5

Here's a school-by-school breakdown:

•Bloomfield Elementary School - 65.9 percent of third graders passing English and math, 95 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 95 percent passing science, 93.8 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 64.6 percent passing social studies.

•East Elementary School - 77.8 percent of third graders passing English and math, 68.6 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 92.2 percent passing science, 78.7 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 78.7 percent passing social studies.

•East Jay Middle School - 67.8 percent of sixth graders passing English and math and 65.9 percent passing science, 73.5 percent of seventh graders passing English and math and 75.3 percent passing social studies, 78.3 percent of eighth graders passing English and math.

•General Shanks Elementary School - 72.3 percent of third graders passing English and math, 76.3 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 81.6 percent passing science, 69.2 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 71.2 percent passing social studies.

•Judge Haynes Elementary School - 57.8 percent of third graders passing English and math, 69.4 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 77.8 percent passing science, 75 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 46.9 percent passing social studies.

•Pennville Elementary School - 70.6 percent of third graders passing English and math, 69.2 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 92.3 percent passing science, 86.7 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 80 percent passing social studies.

•Redkey Elementary School - 94.3 percent of third graders passing English and math, 63.4 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 85.4 percent passing science, 79.4 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 64.7 percent passing social studies.

•West Jay Middle School - 61.1 percent of sixth graders passing English and math and 56.6 percent passing science, 56.1 percent of seventh graders passing English and math and 56.1 percent passing science, 59.8 percent of eighth graders passing English and math.

•Westlawn Elementary School - 66.7 percent of third graders passing English and math, 60.5 percent of fourth graders passing English and math and 90.7 percent passing science, 56.8 percent of fifth graders passing English and math and 52.3 percent passing social studies.

In South Adams Schools, 67 percent of third graders passed English and math, 74.3 percent of fourth graders passed English and math and 70.5 percent passed science, 70 percent of fifth graders passed English and math and 68.3 percent passed social studies, 81.7 percent of sixth graders passed English and math and 78.5 percent passed science, 70.3 percent of seventh graders passed English and math and 78 percent passed social studies, and 69.8 percent of eighth graders passed English and math.[[In-content Ad]]