| A showcase of trophies, plaques and blue ribbons won by various sports teams greets visitors entering Carbondale Area High School.
The display is not unlike what is found in the hallways of the adjacent Carbondale Elementary School. Students' reports, projects and drawings are showcased on the walls.
Then there are the 10 students who placed first in this year's Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competition -- no other school had as many first-place winners. There are the four students who placed second in a regional math competition, and four selected this year for the prestigious Governor's School of Excellence -- a five-week summer program for artistically and academically gifted students.
Not to mention the elementary school science fairs, concerts and plays. They are not just things to point out when the mandatory Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test scores and average Scholastic Assessment Test scores are poor. They are examples of some of the accomplishments in which the district prides itself -- the things those tests do not measure.
Still, with so much emphasis on teacher accountability and the pressures to show student achievement on tests, educators at Carbondale Area are the first to conclude something needs to be done to improve test scores.
OFF THE MARK
The results of a computer analysis show that of the 37 public school districts in the seven-county region, Carbondale is the furthest away from its target or predicted SAT score. It misses the mark by 104 points.
The district's average SAT score of 876 last school year is also the lowest average score among the 37 districts. It falls well below the state average of 994.
The computer analysis conducted by Times-Shamrock Newspapers looks at 480 school districts in the commonwealth by using the widely recognized software program, SPSS. After examining the correlation among 14 variables, the analysis determined that Carbondale's average SAT score should have been 980. A perfect SAT score is 1600. The variables included per-pupil expenditures, percentages of low-income students, attendance rates, teacher-student ratios and percentages of students taking the SATs.
The analysis also shows that Carbondale missed its predicted scores for six state assessment tests -- fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade reading and math.
"We're aware of it. We're not happy with it," says Robert Tomaine, Carbondale High School's director of guidance. "We're taking steps to correct it."
One of those steps includes a complete overhaul of the district's curriculum.
On the elementary level, the curriculum is five years old. It needs to be better aligned with state standards and the information being asked on state assessment tests, says Carbondale Elementary School Principal Dominick Famularo. The high school curriculum will also be looked at and changed, says Carbondale High School Principal Paul Kaczmarcik.
"These are not tests of basic skills," Mr. Famularo says of the state assessment tests. "These tests indicate how far beyond the basics we go. It's important that our curriculum is geared toward the test."
For example, eighth-graders will find some algebra questions on their math assessment test -- a branch of math that they are not typically taught until ninth grade.
The district tests students in grades two through eight each year using another standardized test called the Stanford Achievement Test
"Our Stanford scores were very good last year," Mr. Famularo says. "If the state used Stanford, we'd be in the top."
The material asked on the Stanford test is better aligned with the school's curriculum, he says.
"I know teachers work hard with students," says Ann Vadella, guidance counselor at Carbondale Elementary School. "But the curriculum does not quite match up to the state assessment tests."
The idea of gearing the curriculum to better prepare students for state assessment tests has become a controversial topic among some teachers who feel they are being asked to teach for the test, Mr. Famularo says. The district is asking teachers to help change the curriculum, he added.
"The state is asking school districts to teach very specific things but they're not providing specific curriculum," he says. "We need to teach our students what they need to be taught to take the test."
EXPERIENCE COUNTS
More training opportunities for teachers are also being offered next year, Mr. Famularo says. The district has a seasoned teacher staff, with about 63 percent of its 85 classroom teachers having 20 years or more experience.
"In-service training was a problem for us," he says.
Because of teacher contract restraints, Carbondale teachers have only two scheduled in-service days for professional development, he says. In the next teacher contract, the district wants to increase the number of in-service professional development days, he says.
With the new state law, called Act 48, teachers must also continue their professional development. To help teachers, Carbondale plans to offer more courses and, in some cases, will pay for the classes, Mr. Famularo says.
"We have all kinds of incentives, because we want our teachers to take classes," he says.
New materials also are being purchased to help students prepare for state tests.
Next year, Carbondale elementary and middle school students will get new workbooks and a new software program called COMPASS, that is specifically geared to prepare for the state assessment tests.
This is also the first year the state is giving districts practice state assessment tests to use. Carbondale educators say that should help boost scores.
"We're doing all these things, because we realize the scores need to be raised," says Mr. Famularo.
The district has also purchased study guides to help prepare eighth- and 11th-graders for the state assessment test, says Dr. Kaczmarcik.
The district also offers students a preparatory class for the SATs, which is free. However, few students take the class -- something administrators hope to change.
The creation of mandatory reading and math labs this year gives intensified help to students who need it, Mr. Tomaine says.
Carbondale, however, is bound by some of the same restrictions facing similar districts -- cash-strapped taxpayers, a stagnant tax base and not enough staffing.
"Thrifty spending is as important," Dr. Kaczmarcik says. "We're accountable to the taxpayers."
The school would like to create a program where failing seventh-graders receive double the instruction time in reading the following year, Mr. Tomaine says.
"The problem is staffing," he says. "We need more teachers."
Teachers at the high school carry a full load and are spread thin, he says.
OUTSIDE THE NUMBERS
"There's an economic environment that we're battling here," says Mr. Tomaine. "We're aware that we have low SAT scores. We've been battling it for many years. But we're also battling socio-economic factors compared to Abington Heights, where there is lots of emphasis in the home on books and education."
In fact, with about 48 percent of its student body classified as low income, Carbondale has one of the highest percentages of low-income students among the 37 districts. It is also well above the state average, which is about 31 percent.
Carbondale administrators attribute the district's high number of low-income students as one factor in its low SAT and state assessment scores. They also point to a high number of special education students in the district.
Almost 17 percent of Carbondale students are in special education -- one of the higher percentages among the 37 districts in the region.
"We don't discourage them from taking the SATs," says Mr. Tomaine. "Many colleges are providing learning to disabled students."
However, the high number of low-income students also has allowed for seniors to get more financial aid for higher education, he added. This year, about $2 million was given to Carbondale students in financial aid, he says.
The district tracks its top students, many of whom score in the 1200s on the SATs, he says. One student this year scored a perfect score on the verbal portion of the SATs, Mr. Tomaine says.
The focus on the SATs also has changed over the years, Dr. Kaczmarcik says. When the test was first developed, it was to be used as a predictor on how well freshman would do in college.
"We've moved away from that," he says, adding that SAT scores are now used to compare districts when that was not the intention of the test.
The SATs and state assessment tests also are not designed fairly to test students in more economically and racially diverse districts, he says. The tests are geared toward white, middle-class populations, he says.
"Other factors are given very little consideration with these tests," Dr. Kaczmarcik says. "There are so many other variables."
For example, some students do not take tests well, others may not try because they do not understand the importance of doing well on the test, he says.
The state uses its assessment test scores to give districts performance funding. That also does not take into account districts with high numbers of low-income students or provide additional funds, he says.
"It's frustrating," Dr. Kaczmarcik says. "But we're not just sitting back and resting in the fact that we've done poorly. We're challenging our teaching staff and our students are being challenged to do better." |
