For second time in two weeks, test results show students achieving

For second time in two weeks, test results show students achieving
7/1/2003 10:55 AM

Just one week after the state released data showing that Saint Paul student achievement on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) has more than doubled since 1998, Superintendent Patricia Harvey had more good news to share.

Harvey today (Tuesday, July 1) released the results of the Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition (SAT10), which measures individualized student achievement from year to year. The school district uses the data to compare student performance against a nationwide sample of students in reading, math, social studies and science.

The SAT10 test results show that most Saint Paul students are performing at or above the national average in several areas, including reading comprehension, mathematics problem solving, language and social science.

Harvey said that the results confirm that the school district is heading in the right direction. “The SAT10 results, combined with the MCA scores, show that our plan to increase student achievement in Saint Paul is working,” said Harvey. “Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. But based on our recent test scores, we know with precision that we are heading in the right direction.”

Harvey said she is confident the school district will improve in areas where students did not score as well, such as vocabulary and word study skills. “For the more than 40 percent of our students who do not speak English as their first language, vocabulary and word study skills take time to grow,” said Harvey. “But by the time these students graduate, they’ll be bilingual and ready to take on the world.”

Complete test results and more information about the SAT10 and the MCA are available at www.spps.org/rea.