District 7 curriculum changes pay off

School officials reported Wood Dale Elementary District 7 students making what they consider significant gains on some standardized tests.

The school board this week reviewed the latest Illinois Standards Achievement Test results and state report card information.

The report indicated more Wood Dale students met or exceeded standards on most of the tests taken this past spring, compared with counterparts who took the same exam a year earlier.

"We've done a lot of work on aligning our curriculum with state standards," said Merri Beth Kudrna, curriculum director for the district.

Kudrna credits the curriculum changes, along with additional intervention programs and staff development that has occurred in the past few years.

District officials noted gains in reading at third, fifth and eighth grades.

The percent of third-graders who met or exceeded standards increased from 81 percent in 2006 to 87 percent this past spring, up from just 68 percent in 2004, a district report shows.

Likewise, 86 percent of fifth-graders at least met standards in 2007, compared with 68 percent a year earlier and 71 percent in 2004, the report said. And, 89 percent of eighth-graders met or exceeded standards in 2007, compared with 86 percent a year earlier and 64 percent in 2004.

In math, where Wood Dale students historically have done well, results improved at all grades, except fourth grade, which saw a drop of 1 percentage point. Eighth-graders saw the largest increase, from 59 percent meeting or exceeding in 2004 to 84 percent in 2006 and 93 percent in the spring.

Science results have remained relatively flat, the report shows.

A few years ago, the district failed to meet progress requirements regarding special education students' reading scores, Kudrna said. But for the second year in a row, those students did show adequate progress, she said.

"It's nice to see the subgroups' improvements," board member Christine Caliendo said. "We have a great curriculum."

"That fact that all our schools made AYP (adequate yearly progress) is quite an achievement," board member Debra Morgan said. "We made some really great strides."

Morgan said she had no concerns with any of the results, noting: "Our administration and staff is really working hard to improve what's not quite there."