Schools pleased with test result

The Journal staff

School officials in Ozaukee and Washington Counties had some questions about the tests, but overall they were pleased with their students' performance on a battery of tests administered to the state's 8th and 10th graders last fall.

This is the second year for the tests, part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System. They measure writing ability as well as knowledge of mathematics, reading, language, science and social studies.

"We're very pleased. There aren't any particular surprises," said Thomas Balliet, director of pupil services for the Mequon- Thiensville School District. Mequon-Thiensville had the highest average composite score of all Ozaukee and Washington districts on both the 8th- and 10th-grade tests. Out of a possible 246 points, the 8th-grade score was 181 while the 10th- grade score was 174.

The state average was 159 for the 8th-grade test and 158 for 10th grade.

Only one local district, Port Washington-Saukville, scored below the state average, with a 157 on the 10th-grade test. All Ozaukee and Washington districts scored at or above the state average on the 8th-grade test.checked with chart. me.

Balliet said the district's results were not surprising because Mequon-Thiensville students always do well on standardized tests.

Cedarburg students also scored well above the state average on both tests. District officials are just starting to analyze the results but Superintendent Gary Compton suggested the high scores could be due in part to the district's comprehensive writing assessment program.

Because the test is only in its second year, it still is too early to tell just what the scores mean, he added.

"It's probably too soon to judge the results," Compton said. "It's difficult for us to gauge if a high score is as good as we think it should be."

"On the surface, we're really pleased with the results," he added. `A Mismatch of Curriculum'

In general, local districts performed above the state average in the test categories of mathematics, reading, language, science, social studies and writing. In Port Washington-Saukville, officials are somewhat concerned by 10th-grade scores in science and social studies that were at or just below the state average.

"I think it's got to be a mismatch of curriculum," said Julie Backus, the district's director of instruction.

The district traditionally has scored high in both areas on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, which closely matches Port Washington's curriculum. Backus suspects that questions on the state assessment tests cover areas in science and social studies that Port Washington students have not yet studied.

Although officials will continue analyzing the test results, Backus said she was reluctant to launch a major overhaul of the curriculum just to achieve higher test scores.

"We don't know how long this particular state test is going to be around," she said. "If we flip- flop our curriculum each time we change state tests, that raises some ethical questions." West Bend Gender Gap

In West Bend, officials are concerned about a gender gap in the writing test at both the 8th- and 10th-grade levels. Boys scored significantly lower than girls on both the imaginative and persuasive writing samples.

The state percentile ranks for West Bend's 8th-grade boys were 39 for imaginative and 47 for persuasive, compared with 68 and 71 for the girls. The ranks for 10th-grade boys were 47 for imaginative and 44 for persuasive, compared with 74 and 71 for the girls.

"If our boys were doing as well as our girls, we'd be doing gangbuster stuff," said Patricia Herdrich, administrator of instruction.

Herdrich said this was the first time test data had revealed a gap, and she was unsure if there was a problem with the district curriculum or the test. One reason could be that boys are less motivated to write on the assigned topic, she added. Tests Questioned

Despite the generally strong performance locally, some officials are not convinced that the state tests are necessary.

"Some parts of the data are much less clear than others in terms of being useful," said Larry Tutewohl, director of curriculum for the Grafton schools.

The short-answer section is especially puzzling because other national standardized tests do not have equivalent sections, he added.

"It's a very difficult measure to interpret," Balliet agreed.

The format of the test changes each year, which makes annual comparisons difficult, he said. More useful data come from other standardized tests, such as the Stanford Achievement Test, which is given to all Mequon- Thiensville students each year.

"Meaningwise it's nice to see that we're one of the top 10 school districts in the state, but we already knew that," Balliet said. "To us, this has little meaning."

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