D122 Maintains High Test Scores Well Above State Averages

As federal standards for reading and math scores continue to increase, students are keeping up.

State report cards were recently released for 2011, showing updated results for student testing. District 122 students scored better than the state average, but largely maintained the 2009-10 percentage of students meeting or exceeding federal standards.

Still, administrators were happy with the results. They went over some of the scores during the school board meeting Wednesday night. 

The No Child Left Behind Act, enacted in 2001, established benchmarks that increase 7.5 percent each year and serve as target goals for schools' annual progress in reading and mathematics. For the 2010-11 school year, the benchmark required 85 percent of students to meet or exceed standards on state exams.

In District 122, 85.1 percent of students met or exceeded standards for reading, and 90.8 percent did for math. The statewide average is 75 percent for reading and 80.8 percent for math.

Despite the overall high scores the district didn't meet federal standards for adequate yearly progress. That's because all sub-categories of students must meet the benchmark. In District 122, students with learning disabilities didn't meet the reading or math scores, and the reading scores were also lower for Hispanic students and students from low-income families.

"What's most important to us is that the kids are learning and improving, and clearly they are," D122 spokeswoman Jenny Zimmerman said. "The increasing benchmarks are tough, but you do the best you can."

On Wednesday, the board reviewed some updated scores for the local Terra Nova testing, as well as the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. On the ISAT scores, students did well once again.

About 87 percent met or exceeded standards for science, 91 percent did in math and 85 percent did in reading. Those are all about six percentage points above the state averages.

"Our achievement has been very high the last few years, so I’m always thinking if it can go up," Associate Supt. Peggy Manville said. "It allows us to modify and change instruction to make sure we're meeting all the needs of the kids."

Improving test scores for reading, math and writing is a goal the district set last year and has continued this year, noting that .

Learn More

Read more about federal standards and adequate yearly progress.

Compare District 122 scores with other schools' report cards.

Download individual schools' report cards from the D122 website.

Check back next week for a more in-depth look at individual schools' scores.

*The headline was changed to reflect the accuracy that scores did not drop, but were maintained. The difference in scores from 2009-10 and 2010-11 was not statistically significant.