Two percentage points of improvement on a state test might signal something good.
Ten percentage points is great news for a school.
But what do you say about a group of kids who boosted their performance by 37 points?
"Phenomenal," said Ruth Robinson, who oversees testing for the Janesville School District.
Not all Janesville schools can boast such improvement, and some are headed in the wrong direction, according to results released today.
Overall, however, things are looking up, Janesville school officials said.
School officials said the data will allow parents to compare their own children's test results with the average for their school and with other schools in the district. Parents received individual results earlier this spring.
The 37-point bump happened to a group of eighth-graders at Edison Middle School. They are students with disabilities-a host of problems that include difficulties in processing information or emotional problems.
The No Child Left Behind law says that groups such as students with disabilities should improve, just like any other group of students. So regulations require that these smaller groups' progress should be tracked separately.
Edison and Parker High School students with disabilities failed to make what is called "adequate yearly progress" for the previous two years under No Child Left Behind.
The two schools rebounded this year, officials said, although official results won't be released until June.
The Edison eighth-graders' results were, as Robinson put it, "unbelievable."
As seventh-graders in 2005, only 18 percent of these students could be considered "proficient" or "advanced" under the state's system of reporting test results. The rest had test scores placing them in the "basic" or "minimal" categories.
This year, 55 percent of those same students scored "proficient" or "advanced."
No Child Left Behind requires that 67.5 percent of students be "proficient" or better in reading, so the students have a ways to go.
But talk about yearly progress!
How'd they do it?
Sid Larson, the reading specialist at Edison, said new programs helped.
The new programs came courtesy of a federal grant that was aimed at schools such as Edison and Parker. The district received $50,000, split between the two schools.
One program they bought is called Read 180. It combines individualized attention, testing to find specific reading weaknesses in each student, readings targeted to specific abilities and computerized instruction.
Edison has been using Read 180 with its disabled students for two years now. It doubles the time they spend on reading, taking time from other classes to do so, Larson said.
Edison also is using Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies, which shows students techniques to understand what they read.
But the new programs are just part of it. Larson said a concerted effort by all the school's teachers to focus on language skills also was key, and these efforts are long-term.
"Some of this growth is payback to the hard work that our teachers have been doing starting a few years ago," Larson said.
Edison also has been trying to instill a new attitude among its students: "The kids are reminded almost on daily basis that they're here to learn, that we have high expectations for them, not just for kids with disabilities, but our regular-education population as well," Larson said.
A new focus permeates the staff, Larson said.
"I think every teacher in the building feels a sense of ownership in helping the kids become better readers," he said.
Teachers buy into that focus because they know that better readers will be better students in all areas of the curriculum, Larson said.
Even if No Child Left Behind ceased to exist tomorrow, Edison's improvement efforts would continue, he added.
As for schools that aren't doing so well, principals will have to get together with their staffs and figure out ways to turn it around, said Donna Behn, school district director of instruction.
Improving test results The Janesville School District has put in place a number of efforts to improve test scores in recent years. Here's a sampling:
Read 180-A package that combines direct instruction, computer instruction, independent reading and audio books, piloted for students with disabilities in middle and high schools in 2005-06, soon to expand to other groups of students. Cost: $40,000.
Fast ForWord-A computerized program to help re-train struggling readers, piloted in 2005-06 at Roosevelt, Lincoln and Parker, expanded to Jackson and Wilson this year.
Academy of Reading and Math, piloted in 2005-06 at Jefferson, Kennedy, Wilson, Adams and Van Buren elementaries, "showing great results after only a few months," according to Director of Instruction Donna Behn. Cost: $12,000 per school.
Focus on specific literacy skills-A middle school effort that included the hiring of a consultant and training a group of teachers, considered successful and to be continued next year.
Summer school-New offerings focused on students who did not meet "adequate yearly progress" on state tests.
Disproportionality efforts-The big word refers to data showing that minority students are identified for special education in greater numbers than their proportion in the student population would suggest. Cultural biases are suspected as the cause. Efforts are under way to change this trend.
Data retreats-Each school's staff review student performance data, student-by-student, and look for ways to improve test scores. The attitude is, "OK you guys, what are we going to do to meet the needs of these kids?" Behn said.
Common assessments which incorporate writing-All teachers, no matter what their subject, must assess students once each semester in writing. "Strong writers become strong readers," is the philosophy. Pilot program started this year.
Results online
» To view your school's results on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts tests, go to the state Department of Public Instruction's Web site, dpi.state.wi.us, and click on "WINNS." A department spokesman said the data would be available starting this morning.
» Click here to read data from the Janesville School District.
