Kaneland zeroes in on low test scores

Raising high school reading scores and elementary science scores was the focus for Kaneland school board members looking over standardized test scores on Monday.

Last school year, 11th-grade reading scores on the PSAE test decreased by 10 percentage points. Science scores from ISAT testing went down 6 percentage points in fourth grade and 8 percentage points in seventh grade.

However, ACT scores for juniors increased, including in reading, from an average of 20.5 to 21.6.

Board member Jonathan Berg asked if that could mean students just weren't trying as hard on the PSAE as on the ACT.

"The numbers might not mean anything if students are not taking it seriously," he said.

Kaneland Director of Curriculum Sarah Mumm said the high school has been working to stress the importance of the tests and recognize students who do well on them.

In analyzing the science curriculum, the district didn't have a consistent or complete unit on space, Mumm said. That, coupled with the loss of a staff member at the middle school the week of the tests, likely contributed to the lower scores, she said.

She said a committee is researching different materials on space and would come back with a request for funding next year.

Board member Deborah Grant said that wasn't soon enough, and teachers would have to be supplementing materials out of their own pockets.

"There is an obligation here that needs to be met for those students," she said.