Dist. 204 excels on school report card

Continuing their annual trend, a large majority of nearly 29,000 students in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 scored well above state averages on several standardized tests, officials said Monday.

This year's state report cards show more than 89 percent of District 204 students meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and more than 92 percent in math under the No Child Left Behind mandate.

Administrators credit the ongoing success to parents who value education, students who come ready to learn and a dedicated staff at the district's 33 schools.

“Our teachers that stay up at night worrying about the students they are not reaching,” Superintendent Kathy Birkett said.

Birkett said she is particularly proud that students at Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley high schools received a 23.9 percent composite ACT score, which is above the state average of 20.7. That's a 0.1 percent increase for the district, while the state average simultaneously dropped 0.1 percent from last year.

“While the state scores have been declining, our scores are rising, so we're very, very pleased with that,” Birkett said.

More than 93 percent of District 204 students also meet or exceed state standards on the Illinois Standards and Achievement Test, or ISAT, which looks at math, reading and science. That's a nearly 1 percent increase from last year.

“There is really no bad news in terms of our results,” said Patrick Nolten, District 204 director of assessment, research and evaluation. “For years we've been told there are now families that have more economic needs, less resources, a growing number of students with more academic needs and we're still the strong performer.”

Math continued to be a strong point for students, with score increases at every grade level. Notable changes include 93.7 to 95.1 for sixth grade, and a rise of more than 5 percent in 11th grade, from 71.2 to 76.8 percent.

Administrators also were proud of large jumps in fifth-grade science, from 72 to 80.5 percent, and gains in 11th grade science from 71.7 to 75.7 percent.

Overall, however, the district did not make Adequate Yearly Progress in reading under No Child Left Behind because the special education, limited English proficiency, black and Hispanic subgroups did not meet state standards.

The mandate requires 77.5 percent all subgroups to meet state standards.

In addition, the following district schools did not reach Adequate Yearly Progress individually due to subgroups that did not meet state standards: Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools; Crone, Fischer, Granger and Gregory middle schools; and Georgetown, Longwood and McCarty elementary schools.

But administrators said they are encouraged that state test results show improved math results in several subgroups, showing that their strong intervention policy and regular progress monitoring are effective for all students.

“A big part of what we do is intervention and we don't have one specific way to do it,” Birkett said. “Different things work for different kids. We're not an assembly line.”