Cook’s Comments: Updated September 16, 2008

“Students will be provided the educational opportunities to succeed in life”

 

  Central Students Test Scores Continue to Rise

 

                 With the release of the 2007-2008 Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) results, Central students continue to outperform state averages in eleven of the sixteen content areas tested.  Overall as a district 76.8% of Central students either Met or Exceeded standards in all tested areas as compared to 74.8% for the state of Illinois.  Scores for our students also rose an additional 2.6% over the 2006-2007 results.

 

           Each year the state of Illinois administers the ISAT to all students in grades 3-8 and the PSAE to all students in grade 11.  Reading and math are tested in every grade level while in grades 4 ,7 and 11 science is also tested.  Central students in grade 3-8 beat state averages on the ISAT in 11 of 14 tested areas.  In 2006-2007 our students out performed the state in 10 of 14 tested areas.

 

           In several content areas our 3-8 students outperformed state averages by significant margins.  In 4^th grade science our students beat the state average by 9.1%.  In 5^th grade reading our students scored 10.6 % above the state average.  The 5th grade class also out performed the state by 10.7% in math scores.  6^th graders finished 9.4 % ahead of the state in reading and 5.8% of the state in math.  Our 7^th grade class bettered  the state average by 11% in science while 8th grade scores in reading were 10.5 % higher. Our 3^rd grade students improved in reading by 10.5% over the previous year’s scores.  For these outstanding results we congratulate our students and staff for this success.

 

           Central High School juniors scored below the state average in reading by 6.5% and math by 3.6% for the 2007-2008 school year.  Improving high school math performance was a focal point of last year’s school improvement plan for the high school. While they did not meet the state average, 11^th grade math scores improved by 8.6% over the previous year. High school science scores also rose by 2.8% over the previous year.  We expect that rising trend to continue into the future with the changes that have taken place.  The focus of this year’s school improvement plan for the high school will largely be placed on reading comprehension and curriculum changes needed to allow more time for teaching reading comprehension.

 

           Our district mission statement reads, “Students will be provided the educational    opportunities to succeed in life.”  As a school district our primary purpose is to make those educational opportunities available to each and every student.  While we are proud of the fact that our students have outperformed state averages in 11 of 16 content areas, we will not be satisfied until we outperform the state in all 16 areas.  We recognize where our strengths lie within our curriculum as well as the specific content areas where we must make improvement.  Our school improvement plans this year will guide our efforts in addressing reading comprehension as a district.  The ability of students to read will greatly affect their ability to succeed in all academic areas and in life in general.  We anticipate that our efforts this year will continue to show growth in the years to come.

 

           To access the 2008 Illinois School Report Card for each school click on one of the following links.