“Laura Brown New Image”
The results of the Hawaii State Assessment (HSA) and the Stanford Achievement Test 9, (SAT9) released at the Board of Education meeting this Thursday in Maui, while not showing dramatic gains, indicate an upward momentum in grades 3 and 5. Also, a comparison of scores from 2002 to 2005 reveals a noticeable improvement across grade levels. Here is a breakdown of statewide performance on the HSA:
”Grade 3:” ”2003,” ”2004,” ”2005”
”Math:” 24.1, 27.1, 28.5
”Reading:” 41.9, 47.3, 51.8
”Grade 5 ”
”Math:” 19.6, 22.6, 25.5
”Reading:” 40.8, 50.3, 55.6
”Grade 8”
”Math:” 15.7, 20.2, 20.5
”Reading” 37.2, 38.9, 38.2
”Grade 10”
”Math:” 15.1, 20.7, 19.6
”Reading:” 34.3, 42.8, 42.3
Some may dismiss these indicators by claiming improvement is the result of teachers becoming more familiar with the test or students were given credit on questions that contained errors on the 2004 and 2005 versions of the test. However, a 10-point gain in third grade reading scores and a 15-point gain in fifth grade reading scores over a 3-year period are hard to dismiss.
”NCLB Driving Improvement in Government Schools”
Each year, the Hawaii Department of Education issues a press release in August on the newest statewide testing results which includes a statement by the Superintendent of Schools.
In 2003, Superintendent Pat Hamamoto stated, “We must intensify our efforts and reaffirm our commitment to improve academic achievement.”
In 2004, Hamamoto said, “In this third year of the Hawaii State Assessment, we are encouraged with the evidence of improvement in student performance.”
This year, she said, “We recognize that we have more work to do