State Set an Unclear Bar for Math, Schools Chief Says

Two of the schools, Loudoun County High and Sterling Middle, have not met the federal standards for two years in a row.

The status for two other schools -- Forest Grove Elementary and Guilford Elementary -- has been classified as "to be determined." The district contested those schools' results after finding discrepancies such as some students' being counted twice, officials said.

Schools have until the end of this month to file appeals to the state Department of Education, and results will not be finalized until November.

Loudoun students' performance also fell on the SAT, according to results released last week, after several consecutive years of increases.

On average, Loudoun's college-bound seniors outperformed their peers across the state and country. But math scores dropped 11 points in Loudoun, from a record high of 539 last year, to 528, compared with a one-point decline in Virginia to 513 and a two-point decline nationwide to 518.

The reading score for Loudoun dropped nine points, from a record high of 534 last year, to 525, compared with a four-point drop statewide to 512 and a five-point drop nationwide to 503.

Ackerman said the drop could be explained in part by a 6 percent jump in the number of students taking the test, an increase consisting mostly of minority students and students for whom English is not their first language.

The number of Asians who took the exam increased by 30 percent, and the number of African American and Hispanic test takers increased by 20 percent. The number of white test takers increased by 2.9 percent.

Twenty percent of the nearly 2,000 students who took the college entrance exam in Loudoun listed English as their second language at home.

Ackerman said she was glad to see more minority students taking the test and considering higher degrees. To prepare them better in the future, she said, the district is looking at ways to incorporate some SAT training into the teaching of English as a Second Language.

Starting this fall, every high school will offer a semester-long SAT preparation course, which the district had planned to introduce before this year's results were released.

Among other things, the course will help students prepare for the test's writing section, which was new this year. Loudoun students scored 508, on average, in writing, compared with 500 statewide and 497 across the country.

The writing score was the lowest of the three, but Ackerman said she suspects that it will improve as students become accustomed to the essay and teachers learn how to prepare them for it.