Great Improvement in Point Boro H.S. Special Ed. Test Scores

Point Pleasant Borough High School special education students' scores in one of the standardized tests rose in Language Arts and Math.

Math scores also went up for the general student population.

In the Language Arts section of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) test, Special Education students' scores increased from 74 percent proficiency in 2010 by nearly 27 percent to 94 percent proficiency this year.

General Education students stayed flat with more than 98 percent reaching proficiency levels in Language Arts.

With a gain in excess of 100 percent, the students in Special Education went from 31.4 percent proficiency in Math in 2010 to 75.8 proficiency in 2011.

General education students also saw substantial gains in Math averaging 79.4 percent proficiency in 2010, increasing nearly 16 percent to 91.9 percent proficiency. 

The school district is attributing the areas of improvement to new and improved methods of teaching Math and Language Arts, particularly integrating Math into the curriculum of other subject areas.

High School Principal Linda Rocco said, in a prepared statement, "Curriculum areas one would think typically devoid of Math were encouraged to promote the use of Math skills.

“For example, Physical Education was used as a venue to utilize Mathematics in order to calculate resting and active heart rates," Rocco explained. "The arts incorporated Mathematics by promoting spatial relations and geometry.”

The statement says, "While agreeing that standardized tests are a valuable indicator of a student’s progress, school administrators know that test scores alone do not adequately portray a school’s level of success."

"However, due to a provision set by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, districts must strive for all pupils to achieve 100 percent proficiency on standardized tests, regardless of their classification as general or special education," the statement says.

"The fulfillment of this provision is the primary factor in the NCLB’s determination of a school’s performance," the statment says.

" The inability to meet these standards cannot only result in the designation of a school as in need of improvement but can also affect a district’s eligibility for federal funding."

Administered simultaneously statewide to students in eleventh grade over three days, the HSPA tests students' proficiency in the academic subjects of Mathematics and Language Arts literacy.

State law requires that all students pass the HSPA in order to achieve high school graduation. 

Scores are broken down into averages of students achieving proficiency in the two subject areas in the categories of Total Student population, General Education population and Special Education population.

While the total and general population have historically attained high levels of proficiency, students classified in need of special education, have struggled with reaching certain proficiency goals; that is until this year with scores in each category improving significantly, the statement says.

The ascent of district HSPA scores actually began about four years ago when Rocco became principal and began to closely analyze standardized test scores to evaluate areas of strengths and weaknesses.

This in-depth analysis resulted in the implementation of a progressive approach targeted at increasing scores for the entire school population by addressing vulnerabilities and gaps in instruction.

“Emphasis was placed on the promulgation of skills in alignment with the State’s Core Curriculum Content Standards,” Rocco said. “An initiative of this magnitude requires the full cooperation and participation of the faculty. I knew I could count on my staff’s participation, but I could not have anticipated the enthusiasm with which this initiative was met.”

Rocco said one of the first tasks was to ensure all instructional staff was familiar with the HSPA test content and format.

“The faculty’s increased familiarity with HSPA material is of tremendous benefit to our students' comprehension,” continued Rocco. “Rather than teaching to the test, faculty altered their instruction styles to teach like the test, integrating test style and subject matter into all curriculum areas.”

The result was the students achieving a firmer understanding of the subject matter and higher test scores.

In fact the percentage of students scoring in the proficient range in both of the tested curriculum areas of Language Arts and Mathematics in 2011 were the school’s highest scores since the test’s 2001 inception.

 Rocco said that although the test scores are at an all time high for the school, focus remains on improvement and attaining the 100 percent level of proficiency, a philosophy bolstered by this spring’s development of Professional Learning Communities.

 “These groups of six to eight teachers will work together to emphasize and implement techniques to promote differentiated instruction,” said Rocco.

“The growth of professional learning communities in education have proven that students and teachers learn more effectively in groups," she said.

"Our district’s establishment of professional learning communities will empower our teachers to achieve their instructional goals through shared ideas and teaching techniques,” she continued.

“Additionally, the smaller groups working in concert toward the common goal of achievement for our students will further nurture the concept of a school community.”

 “These amazing results can be attributed to our faculty’s hard work and dedication,” said Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith.

“The unified effort put forth by our administration and teaching staff have demonstrated the school district’s shared vision and commitment to improving student and teacher success,” he continued.

United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called for reforms to this decade old act in order to more adequately assess schools through a comprehensive set of factors addressing both strengths and weaknesses.

But in the meantime school administrators continue to implement innovative new procedures in efforts to increase learning while addressing the high stakes scores.