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Test results uneven

Published 12:03am Friday, November 9, 2012

NATCHEZ — Scattered results for the Natchez-Adams School District’s first nine-weeks assessment tests have school officials looking further into the numbers.

Superintendent Frederick Hill presented the test results to the Natchez-Adams School Board at its Thursday meeting and received concerned feedback from some of the board members.

At first glance, board member David Troutman said several areas of the test scores look low. Troutman questioned what other factors go into the test scores, such as whether the material students were tested on matched what the teachers taught.

Results of the test are given in averages of percentage of items correct. Board member Benny Wright said he was concerned that there were large gaps in test scores across the schools. For example, he said, second graders at McLaurin scored 77 on the English Language Arts section of the test, and second graders at Frazier scored 58.

Wright asked if the curriculum at the two schools was the same, and Hill said yes. Wright said the district needed to use the test results at the end of the year to evaluate student as well as teacher performance.

Several factors, Hill said, go into evaluating the test scores. He said that all teachers are not going to be on the same lessons each day.

Hill said the district would do an analysis of what was taught, what the students were tested on and how those matched.

The district, Hill said, would also look at if a teacher taught the curriculum the best way and other factors.

“There are a lot of components out there to analyze what (could have) happened that we would have a tremendous gap between the two schools,” he said.

In other news from the meeting:

  • Business Manager Margaret Parson informed the board that the district’s transportation budget was going to be $164,000 more than the budget because an extra bus and 10 monitors were added. The extra bus was added because some students who live near the Franklin County line were not getting home until 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Board member Thelma Newsome asked Parson where the money would come from to pay the extra expense.

Parson said she saw no other place to get the money other than from the district’s 16th Section funds, which she said means the fund balance will be gone in a year.

  • The board recognized Angela Anderson, Donald Ray Calvin and Ike Hargrave for their hard work as custodians for the school district.
  • The district will host a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Natchez Community Center. School officials will update the public on plans for the district and also take questions from the audience.
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  • Anonymous

    As a concerned parent I visited my child’s classroom to see how everything was going. Well to my surprise, the teacher was trying to teach pronouns, paragraph writing, and verbs at the same time. I asked the question why so many different skills at the same time. She responded that they had a pacing guide to follow, and she had to teach at least eight skills per week. I immediately asked what happens if a students does not master the skill, and was any reteaching done. This teacher told me that she did not have the time to do the reteaching.
    If students are just being introduced to skills and not mastering them, they will never pass state test or be successful in school. We should learn from Japan and other countries where less skills are required, but the students do master these skills. Additionally, if all students are tested, and follow the college track program,we will always have failing or bad scores. Everybody should not go to college, but these individuals can go through business,trade curriculum, and other areas.

  • Anonymous

    $64000 to haul a few kids to the Franklin county line? And some bus monitors??? We never had bus monitors, we had our butts whipped and were made to behave. Thanks to the liberal hippies we can’t whip kids at school anymore.

    Get ready I smell another tax increase from the unelected school board.

  • Anonymous

    You got it, trade school for the lower level learners, college and beyond for the higher learners. Everyone will never be all “A” students. My past business career and education utilized a curve for this type analysis, much like “grading on the curve”. The lower end of the curve was a percentage of students at the lesser achievement level, typically 5-10%, the mass in the middle, typically 80+% were average learners, and those on the high end of the curve were those that excelled. Today’s curve is a flat line with everyone needing to achieve the same level of greatness which will NEVER happen.

  • Anonymous

    The Ntz Adams School District was one of 17 ofMississippi’s 150+ school districts that received an “F” rating. Will the Natchez Democrat EVER run a story to let us know how much our tax dollars are being wasted on this sinking ship.

  • Anonymous

    Amen on the tax increase. It used to be (back when the liberals hadn’t went wild) that ANYONE that lived in town DID NOT ride a bus. If they went back to that (and neighborhood schools) they would have plenty of buses for the county students. So many, in fact, they could reduce the number of buses and “monitors”. This would save tax money. SAVE TAX MONEY? Heaven forbid!

  • Anonymous

    Back in the day either you got it or you didn,t,you studied hard and made it go,now all people do is whine,and want to be given diplomas,passing grades,freebies,blame the teachers,when its the parenting and kids that don,t give a rats behind,because they are brought up to be sassy,smart aleck,and disrespectful,running through the stores,doing as they please and don,t try to correct one or say anything god forbid.They are right the Natchez Adams county school system is throwing monies away,I agree with Savior,quit wasting monies on this sinking ship,they dont, care anyway..got 4 households in our small neighborhood working the system,whole families drawing checks and living of the goverment,not working and don,t want to work,and ain,t gonna work. this whole country is going to bottom out and it ain,t gonna be pretty.

  • Anonymous

    A little over half of the country popular vote was Democrat – more of the same for four more years. Keep your hand on your wallet, or your neighbors will steal that also!

  • Lsu mom

    There are too many interruptions to the teachers class time. Too many petty things they are being told to do which takes away from them actually getting to teach. Then you have the discipline problem kids but you cannot do anything about them.

  • Anonymous

    I suggest that a significant number of other districts in MS are either D or C graded, thus NASD is not far behind the pack. In order to achieve the higher status, every student would have to attain an A Average, thus the system is set up for failure from the start. Thank your federal government, all other cities and states are wasting their tax dollars also.

  • Anonymous

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