The final answer on test scores

But when it comes to getting more bang for its educational buck, Northwest Area on the back roads of Luzerne County is at the head of the class. The district, which has a high number of low-income students and moe of the lower attendance rates, excels among schools in the seven-county region. 

The analysis, done by Times-Shamrock Newspapers, measures the performance of the 37 regional public school systems on their average SAT and state assessment test scores for 1999-2000, based on each district's demographics, finances and other criteria. Predicted scores, resulting from the analysis, area compared with actual scores from those tests.

Riverside and North Pocono, both if Lackawanna, and Crestwood, in Luzerne, also fare well in the analysis. Man of the other districts in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties do not.

LUZERNE DISTRICTS SHINE

Most of Luzerne's 11 public school districts come close to or surpass their predicted SAT scores, as well as their predicted scores in the 2000 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests for fifth-, eighth- and eleventh-grade reading and math.

The actual average SAT scores in five districts -- Northwest, Lake-Lehman, Crestwood, Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley West -- are above their target SAT scores. Lake-Lehman has the second highest actual average SAT score -- 1028 -- in the region.

Five districts -- Wyoming Area, Dallas, Hazleton, Greater Nanticoke and Hanover Area -- are just 18 to 22 points below their predicted SAT scores. Pittston Area is well below, missing its mark by 68 points.

Northwest surpasses its target SAT score by 70 points -- the most of the 37 districts in the seven counties.

Most Luzerne districts also have average state assessment test scores above their predicted scores.

Crestwood's state assessment scores are consistently above its predicted scores, more so than any of the 37 districts in the seven counties.

"We're at the forefront of analyzing state standards and assuring our students are taught those standards," says Crestwood Superintendent Ted Geffert. "We expect our students to succeed."

A climate is set within the schools that testing is important, he says. In the high school, math teachers give students problems from the SATs at the beginning of each class, he says.

"They put it on the board and for four or five minutes the students work on it," he says. "Then they go on with the rest of their lesson."

Crestwood also surpasses its predicted SAT score by 13 points -- making it again one of the high performers among the 37 districts.

Hazleton Area -- Luzerne's largest school district -- exceeds its predicted state assessment scores in fifth- and eighth-grade reading and math.

However, the district is 20 points below its target SAT score and missed its target state assessment scores by 10 points each in eleventh-grade math and reading. Its predicted SAT score is 974 and its actual is 954.

"We have a very large population taking the SATs," says Hazleton Superintendent Geraldine Shepperson. "We have 75 percent of our students going on to higher education."

Many of the students go on to two-year community colleges, and from there transfer to four-year colleges, she explains. Those students do not prepare much for the SATs because they know in advance that they will be attending community colleges where high SAT scores are not a requirement for admission, she says.

The average SAT score of Hazleton students planning to attend four-year colleges was 1027 last year, Dr. Shepperson says.

Hazleton is also one of two schools in the state that has a career center within its district. While most of the 600 students at the career center go on to trade schools, many still take the SATs, she says.

"We have a population that skews the scores," she says. "Don't get me wrong, we're not happy. We'd love to see higher scores."

EXTREME RESULTS

In neighboring Lackawanna, the 10 districts are on the extreme ends of the computer analysis.

Two districts -- Riverside and North Pocono -- exceed their predicted SAT scores by 36 and 31 points, respectively -- the second- and third-highest margins among the 37 districts. Riverside also has the third-highest actual average SAT score -- 1019 -- in the region, while North Pocono places fifth with its average score of 1012.

On the other end of the spectrum, Dunmore, Old Forge, Valley View, Mid Valley and Carbondale are among the six districts that miss their target SAT scores by the most points. Those five districts are off their predicted SAT scores ranging from Dunmore's 67 points to Carbondale's 104 points.

Mid Valley and Carbondale are the only two districts among the 37 in Northeastern Pennsylvania that do not have actual average SAT scores that fall within their predicted SAT score ranges.

The remaining two districts in Lackawanna County -- Abington Heights and Scranton -- marginally miss their target SAT scores by 4 and 26 points, respectively. Abington Heights' actual average SAT score of 1031 is the highest in the region.

Most Lackawanna districts also miss their predicted state assessment test scores. Only Abington Heights, North Pocono and Scranton consistently reach or exceed their target state assessment scores in fifth-, eighth- and eleventh-grade math and reading.

School officials in many of the districts acknowledge that low test scores have been problematic for several years. They also say that steps are being taken to improve them.

"We're trying to do the same thing that all schools are doing, converting our curriculum to meet state standards," says Old Forge Superintendent Gene Camoni. "It's not something that happens overnight."

New courses will be offered next year to better prepare students for state assessment tests and SATs, he says.

The district does score on the state assessment tests within the same range as schools with similar profiles, he says.

"We can always improve," he says. "I tell my staff that all the time. I think we're going in the right direction. Time will tell."

Like many other districts, Old Forge has also purchased computer software specifically designed to help students prepare for the math and reading state assessment tests. New computers will also be added to classrooms, he says.

"Since 1996, when I first came to the district, we've been challenged to increase the scores," Dr. Camoni says. "We want to improve each year."

Retiring Riverside Superintendent John Rooney says his district is also revamping its curriculum to better prepare students for state assessment tests. While the district exceeds its predicted SAT score by 36 points, its state assessment scores are below the benchmark.

"We're changing our internal testing to match the state testing, as everyone is doing," he says. "Apparently it's taken a while to get it in sync."

There are also problems motivating older students to take the state assessment tests seriously, he says. Some students have been known to pick any answer without even reading the questions.

While much emphasis is placed on SATs and state assessment test scores, many educators stress there is more to education.

"Our goals are to educate for the goals of the community," says Dunmore Superintendent Charles Mecca.

Dunmore misses its predicted SAT score by 79 points. Its average SAT score in 1999-00 was 954. The district also misses its predicted state assessment scores in fifth-, eighth- and eleventh-grade math and reading.

Mr. Mecca says there are too many factors involved in taking tests that could skew the results of the analysis and general reporting of district test scores.

For example, some students could be having a bad day on the date the test is offered. Other students just do not test well, he says.

"Each student is an individual," he says. "It depends on so many factors and those factors could influence scores to go up or down."

SOME COUNTIES SPLIT

Susquehanna's six school districts -- Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Forest City, Montrose, Mountain View and Susquehanna Community -- are split in how well they fared in the analysis.

For the most part, at least half meet or exceed their predicted state assessment scores. Just Montrose and Elk Lake surpass their predicted SAT scores by 13 and 12 points, respectively.

"We're very pleased," says Elk Lake Superintendent Bill Bush, adding that the district wants to raise its eleventh-grade state assessment scores, which miss the predicted scores.

Forest City Superintendent Bernice Lukus says her district does not go to extreme measures to prepare students to take the SATs or state assessment tests. However, the district is rewriting its curriculum and hopes that will help improve test scores, she says.

Forest City misses its target state assessment scores in fifth- and eighth-grade math and reading. The district also missed its predicted SAT score by 22 points in the analysis.

More and more students are being encouraged to take the SATs, which makes the scores go down, Mrs. Lukus says.

"But it opens windows of opportunities for students," she says. "In my personal opinion, we like to look at not only one testing area, like the SATs. That's high-stake testing. I think there are lots of other things to consider. I'm not an advocate of high-stake testing."

Some children do not do well on tests, she adds.

"We address students' talents not only with academics," she says. "We look at the whole child and his or her intelligence in music, art, dance."

Wyoming's two districts -- Lackawanna Trail and Tunkhannock -- are also split in how well they did in the analysis. Tunkhannock exceeds its predicted SAT score by 25 points -- the fourth-highest among the 37 regional districts. Lackawanna Trail misses its predicted SAT score by 31 points. Tunkhannock meets or exceeds its predicted state assessment test scores in fifth- and eighth-grade reading and math, and eleventh-grade reading. Lackawanna Trail does for just fifth-grade reading and math.

"We're taking a look at math very seriously," says Lackawanna Trail Superintendent Robert Jurbala. "We're coming up with goals for improvements and motivating students. We know our scores are low. We want to increase them."

The district has set up committees of teachers, students and parents to come up with ways to improve, he says.

Lackawanna Trail is looking to change some of its teaching methods to better prepare students for the tests, he says. One example would be to pattern test questions within the district to resemble questions on state assessment tests.

The district has also tracked students to gauge their progress on the state assessment tests, he says.

"We've even interviewed students to see their perception of the test, their motivation and seriousness in taking it," Mr. Jurbala says. "We're trying to get students to realize the importance of how well they do."

One reason for the low SAT scores is because Lackawanna Trail encourages all its students to take the college entrance test while some districts encourage only their top students to take it, he explains. Lackawanna Trail had an average SAT score of 953 last year.

"Even if our scores were above (the predicted scores in the analysis), great efforts are being made," Mr. Jurbala says. "There's always room for improvement. Status quo at Lackawanna Trail is not acceptable."

PROBLEM IN THE POCONOS

Pocono school districts -- those in Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties -- are also split in how well they did in the analysis.

Only Pike's Delaware Valley exceeds its predicted SAT score. Wayne Highlands, Western Wayne and Wallenpaupack, all in Wayne County, miss their predicted SAT scores by a marginal 1 to 12 points. Monroe's school districts -- Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Pleasant Valley and Pocono Mountain -- miss by 16 to 55 points.

Delaware Valley and Wallenpaupack exceed their predicted state assessment scores in all levels of the test. The other districts' predicted state assessment test score results vary by grade level and test subject.

The districts, however, are plagued by a unique problem that affects state assessment scores, administrators say.

"We do have transient populations," Pleasant Valley Superintendent Frank Pullo says.

Pleasant Valley tracked one kindergarten class that began with 163 students. By the time those students were seniors, the class had grown to 390 students.

The same is true for the other Pocono area school districts where student growth has skyrocketed in recent years.

"It's not an excuse," Mr. Pullo says, "but in fairness, it makes it harder when the test is given to kids who have only been in the district a year."