The Mississippi Department of Education released the results for the 2016-17 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment on Thursday and Union Elementary School was ranked fourth in the state among all school districts in the average scale score.
The 69 UES kindergarteners, who are now in first grade, had an average score of 769, with only Neshoba County, Stone County and Oxford school districts scoring better.
UPSD also had the largest scale score gain among districts in the state from the fall pre-test to the spring assessment, increasing 291 points, seven points more than second place Stone County.
UES Principal Deanna Rush said the improvement was the result of very strong teachers who used the data from the students fall 2016 pre-test, where the average score was 478, to create teaching strategies.
“That was the lowest that we’ve had since we’ve been giving the assessment so we knew from the beginning that we had a long way to go,” Rush said. “Those teachers used that data to plan their interventions and plan their centers, so students went through centers every day that were geared toward what their strengths and weaknesses were. Then we would test again and revise those centers again. We tested at least every four to six weeks to see if those students were mastering standards and objectives where they had previously been weak and if they weren’t then we intensified those interventions.”
The 130 Newton County Elementary School kindergartners also had a big increase from the fall pre-test, going from 490 to 735 for the spring.
The 75 Newton Municipal Elementary School kindergarteners had a 203-point increase going from 477 in the fall to 680 for the spring.
Rush said that the current kindergartners took the fall pre-test last week and the average score was 507, 31 points higher than last year. For the past two years, the school district has been cooperating with local preschools, daycare centers and head start centers to better prepare incoming kindergarten students.
If this year’s kindergartners have the same improvement the previous class had in the spring, UES could again be in the top 5 in the state. However, Rush said that main goal is to cater to each student’s needs.
“I think when we individualize instruction in that way it’s more effective for each child. It wasn’t about the growth as a grade, as a whole kindergarten class, that wasn’t what was most important to us,” she said. “It was most important to look at each individual student and grow those individual students. Instead of planning one lesson, those teachers really had to plan a different lesson for every child in their class. So, it takes a lot more work but obviously it pays off because of the amount of growth they were able to show.”
Statewide, districts also saw gains for the third year in a row, with the average statewide score exceeding the previous two school years.
Almost 37,000 kindergarteners took the STAR Early Literacy exam in the fall and spring of the 2016-17 school year. The state average score for the fall test was 502. The average score climbed to 710 on the spring test. The score gain is greater than last year, which grew from 502 in the fall to 703 in the spring.
“Mississippi kindergarten teachers are continuing to do a great job helping students build the foundational literacy skills they need to be successful throughout their education,” said Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “Reading instruction must remain a major focus through the 3rd grade so that all children complete elementary school with strong reading skills.”
Every district in the state showed progress among their kindergarten classes, though student achievement varied. District average scores ranged from 609 to 782.
Statewide, 65 percent of kindergarteners scored above the end-of-year target score of 681, which categorizes them as transitional readers. Students scoring at this level are beginning to read unfamiliar words and easy reader material, but are not yet independent readers. At the end of the 2015-16 school year, 63 percent met the target score, up from 54 percent in 2014-15.
The STAR Early Literacy exam evaluates skills such as the ability to recognize letters and match letters to their sounds and a student’s recognition that print flows from left to right. The exam produces reports for parents and teachers that detail each child’s early reading skills. Teacher reports also include diagnostic information and instructional plans for every student.
