Modest Gains In D.C. Schools

Eva Baker, director of the California-based Center for Research on Evaluation Standards and Student Testing said that the results in the second year of any test will be better but that the improvement often comes as a result of teachers concentrating their lessons on how to perform better on the test.

"People are focusing on the details of the test rather than on the content that the test is only supposed to sample," Baker said.

Of the 55,000 students enrolled in the D.C. school system, about 29 percent at the elementary level passed the math test, up 3 percentage points from last year. In elementary reading, 37 percent of students passed, 1 percentage point higher than last year.

Among secondary students, 26 percent passed in math, up from 23 percent the previous year. Reading on the secondary level stayed flat, with 29 percent passing.

Charter schools also performed better in math than reading.

Taking a closer look at school-by-school results shows a mixed picture of academic gains and losses. For example, Birney Elementary in Anacostia, which has gained a reputation for results among high-poverty students, went from 51 percent passing in math to 19 percent passing this year. The school also went down in reading, from 54 percent last year to 46 percent.

In contrast, many schools made adequate yearly progress for the first time, and some made big gains. Barnard Elementary in Northwest went from 24 percent passing in math last year to 54 percent this year. The school also posted significant gains in reading, from 37 percent passing last year to 65 percent.

The reasons behind this year's sizable shift in scores were not immediately clear. Officials at Birney and Barnard could not be reached to explain what happened.

For a school to make adequate yearly progress under federal law, students in eight "subgroups" have to meet performance targets. The categories include students with limited English skills, special education students and racial minorities.

Students are graded as below basic, basic, proficient or advanced, based on test scores. Next year, the school system will raise the minimum scores required to reach proficiency.

Of the city's charter schools, 10 made adequate yearly progress, up from four last year. That list included two schools that took the test for the first time in their first year of operation. Seven schools -- William E. Doar, Howard University Math and Science, Washington Math Science Technology, St. Coletta, SEED, Washington Latin and City Collegiate -- made adequate yearly progress for the first time. Three other schools reached performance targets for the second year in a row: Friendship-Woodridge, Howard Road Academy and KIPP DC's KEY Academy.