Scores shine in Dist. 203

Naperville Unit District 203 is celebrating another standout set of test scores, meeting federal standards in 99 percent of its required categories.

The district missed just three of 337 No Child Left Behind hurdles - special education math at Naperville Central High School and special education reading and math at Naperville North.

For high school students, scores are based on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which includes the ACT and is taken by juniors. Most elementary and junior high students take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

Meeting standards got even tougher this year. According to federal guidelines, 62.5 percent of students in each category must meet standards for the school to make "adequate yearly progress," up from 55 percent.

Superintendent Alan Leis said he is especially proud that all 19 elementary and junior high schools in the district managed to have at least 90 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.

"I've never known a large district like ours to not have more variance between the lowest-achieving schools and highest-achieving schools," Leis said. "That these are all above 90 percent and so tightly clustered I just think it's truly amazing."

In reading, 93.5 percent of elementary and junior high students met or exceeded standards, up from 92.9 percent last year. Leis said he had expected lower scores due to changes that now require students who speak limited English to take the same test as all other students.

He attributed the district's high reading scores to a new reading curriculum and additional support services and intervention programs.

Math scores for elementary and junior high students dipped just slightly with 95.6 percent meeting or exceeding standards compared with 96 percent last year.

Leis said when scores are already that high, "it doesn't bother me that it fluctuates slightly."

Science scores held firm at 95.5 percent.

Overall at the high school level, 80 percent of students met or exceeded standards in reading just as they did last year, while 79 percent did so in math, down from 81 percent last year. Science scores remained constant at 81 percent.

Leis said he was unsure as to why math declined since ACT scores are on the rise, but he feels the community generally places more emphasis on the ACT so it is not a major concern.

However, special education students fell short of making adequate yearly progress at both Naperville North and Central high schools this year.

At Central, 36.2 percent of those students met or exceeded standards in math, while at North 29.0 percent met standards in math and 37.7 percent in reading.

Naperville North also did not make adequate yearly progress last year due to its math scores for special education and economically disadvantaged students. However, it will not face penalties unless it misses again next year.

Along with tracking academic improvement, the tests give the district a chance to see its demographic trends, and they reveal it is growing more diverse. The percentages of students who are black, Hispanic, Asian, low-income and speak limited English have increased over the previous year.

District 203 test scores

Percentage of students districtwide meeting or exceeding federal No Child Left Behind standards.

Reading Math

2008 2007 2008 2007

All 91.3 90.8 93.0 93.7

White 92.4 91.7 93.8 94.7

Black 73.2 68.0 72.4 72.0

Hispanic 76.3 74.0 81.2 77.3

Asian/Islander 94.5 95.2 97.3 97.6

Limited English 61.5 80.2 78.3 80.4

Disabled 63.7 63.9 69.1 72.1

Low-income 69.7 67.4 73.5 71.1