District's ISAT scores improve

Staff writer

SANDPOINT - Lake Pend Oreille School District's spring ISAT scores are the highest since testing began in the district.

Scores improved in all three testing areas - reading, math and language usage, said Doug Olin, assistant administrator.

The test compares student proficiency levels from the previous year.

Students who either were advanced or proficient in reading increased from 82.1 to 87.89 percent, while math went from 77.1 to 82.51 percent and language usage increased from 67.6 to 72.7 percent.

Results include pockets of “substantial improvement and some decreases,” Olin said at recent board meeting.

Districtwide, 91.3 percent of eighth graders met proficiency in reading.

“This is a terrific score and parents of students at Clark Fork, Sandpoint Middle School and LPO should be very proud,” Olin said in a press release.

Fifth grade students also did well in math, with 86 percent achieving proficiency, while 86 percent of third graders were proficient in both reading and math.

Many officials consider third grade the determining year for students' future school success, according to the district.

The district still has work to do in regard to student's science and language usage.

In science, students in grades five, seven and 10 scored 60, 57 and 68.4 percent, respectively.

As part of an effort to improve student understanding of science, the district began implementing the first year of a three-year science Idaho education grant this summer. The grant is a joint project with the University of Idaho.

Twenty-plus teachers in grades four through six spent a week learning how to incorporate science into class curriculum. By the time the grant is completed, 60-plus teachers will have participated in the project.

A big increase in test scores one year may not equate to improvements or similar test results the next year, Supt. Dick Cvitanich said.

It also is likely that, as the percentage of students who become proficient increases, those big gains will begin to drop off, he added.

At that point, the district can focus more time on testing subcategories that include low-income students and also work on moving students from proficient to advanced, Cvitanich said.