State test results generally positive for Janesville
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Click here to view results of this year's Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams from the state Department of Public Instruction.
JANESVILLE — Janesville public school officials are pleased with how students performed on the latest round of state tests, but room for improvement remains.
Students with disabilities, as a group, didn't hit the state target in reading and math, for example. But that's the same problem statewide, said Ruth Robinson, testing coordinator for the school district.
In fact, Janesville students with disabilities are doing much better as a group than the average for their counterparts around the state, according to preliminary results released today.
The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams are required under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Each test taker receives a grade of "minimal," "basic," "proficient" or "advanced."
The law sets targets for schools. The targets are expressed in a percentage of students who score in the "proficient" or "advance" range.
The bar will be raised every year, with the goal of 100 percent scoring at least "proficient" by 2014.
Most Janesville schools hit their targets in reading and math this year. The target in reading was 74 percent. Jackson and Wilson elementary schools fell 2 percentage points below the target in the fifth grade.
But even those schools improved from the previous year, Robinson noted.
Nearly every elementary grade at nearly every school exceeded not only the state target but also the state average, Robinson noted.
The middle and high schools didn't do quite as well but overall showed steady improvement from previous years, Robinson said.
Minority groups—including blacks, English language learners and students with disabilities—also fell below the targets at some grade levels.
But don't think that minority groups always lag behind. Robinson pointed to the district's Hispanic sixth-graders. Ninety-three percent of that group scored "proficient" or better on the reading test, compared with 89 percent for the overall sixth-grade average.
"It goes to show that programming—whatever we're doing there—it's working," Robinson said.
What the schools are doing for all students is to focus specific "interventions" on groups of students with the same weaknesses. An intervention might be a small group of students working on the same skill. Or, those with reading difficulty might be assigned to complete a software-based program called Read 180.
The district buys a separate, computer-based testing system called Measures of Academic Progress to identify students' weaknesses. That's because the state test results become available about five months after they're taken—too late to be of much use for teachers this school year, Robinson said.
The results released today are not the end of the story. The state will announce final results in June, when districts or schools that failed to meet "average yearly progress" goals will be identified.
Robinson said it's too soon to say whether Janesville will have difficulty with average yearly progress, but she has concerns for the results among some demographic subgroups.
The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams also test students in social studies and science, but only at the fourth, eighth and 10th grades. Janesville students in those grades did better than the state average in those subjects. Breakdowns for individual schools were not immediately available.
Janesville schools will continue to push students to higher test scores in the years ahead, Robinson said.
"I know people are working very, very hard in that area," she added.
Apr 30, 2009 at 9:41 a.m.
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creature: In theory, your idea has a lot of merit. Unfornately, if the parents didn't give a rip when reimbursement is NOT the case, I really don't think that they are going to give a rip with your idea. It may sound very negative on my part, but I was a teacher in the public schools for 12 years and when I see parents who find that caller ID, smokes and getting their false nails nicely manicured are more important than paying for their kids lunch $ or buying them pencils, well then....you have your answer. YOU, however, do get an "A" for your effort and concern. :>
Apr 29, 2009 at 4:36 p.m.
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Parents are the key element to any kids education. If the parent sees no benefit in making education a priority the child will most likely follow that same path. The time has come for a cause and effect design to public schools with regards to parents. Put in place a system of penalty for poor grades. Start with 1st grade and explain to the parents that every year the kids will be evaluated at the beginning, middle and end of the year. If the child is falling behind the parents will be notified in writing and required to attend a parent/teacher conference discussing the objectives/goals needed to bring the student up to speed. Maybe summer school, maybe being held back. Say the student continues to fall behind then at the next registration the parent will need to reimburse the school district a percentage of the money spent on the child from the previous year or some type of penalty. This is really the only way people will make an effort for the fear of spending more money. The win is the student being better prepared for life after school.
Apr 29, 2009 at 4:07 p.m.
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Spark, yes. I was being sarcastic! I made this comment at 8:52 in the evening. I was the first to comment on this article which indicates that Janesville students have had positive state test scores. Would there have been many more comments if this article was indicating the opposite?
Apr 29, 2009 at 4 p.m.
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Spark: I'm pretty sure gamma's statement must have been in satire for anyone who has any association with any teacher knows teachers could find much higher wages in many other careers. Teachers teach out of a commitment to their students and the future - an understanding that we will someday put our world into their hands. I wish everyone who ever criticized a teacher for what they do; complained they're reimbursed too much for their incredible efforts would be placed in charge of a classroom for even half a day if it were not for the fact that probably wouldn't be fair to the students. Guaranteed those now so critical would have a FAR better understanding and appreciation of a teacher's dedication, commitment, and incalcuable value. Please say "thank you" to a teacher today!
Apr 29, 2009 at 3:28 p.m.
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Let me ask everyone some thought provoking questions. In any class there are kids who do well and kids who don't. Why is that the case if they are being taught by the same teacher in the same manner? In fact, why do any kids succeed at all if they are being taught by the same teachers? Every year some students end up going to ivy league schools, or at least upper teir schools, from Janesville schools (or any other school district). If the teachers are so bad, why do these students succeed? If we were to create an equation to figure this out, the teachers would be the constant. The variables would be what? Perhaps outside factors out of the teachers' control? Parenting perhaps? This is always the problem. There is no way to regulate the greatest factor in a child's success. You can't make a law for bad parenting skills or non-nuturing environments. It would be great if you could. In a recent TIME article they discussed the success of a program in NY where low-income students were put in PUBLIC boarding schools. What happened? They succeeded! The difference? They were taken out of their home environment. Everything we know state that the biggest factor to a students' success is the parents! How can we test them?
Apr 29, 2009 at 2:58 p.m.
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Ya, I was wondering the same thing. Gamma, I hope that was a sarcastic comment.
Apr 29, 2009 at 1:57 p.m.
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Blame what on what overpaid teachers????
Apr 29, 2009 at noon
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Well said, gmma!!!
Apr 28, 2009 at 8:52 p.m.
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So, can we blame this on those overpaid teachers? Isn't it, at least in part, their fault?
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