FRANKTON — For Brett Crider, ISTEP testing is nothing to fear.
In September, the sixth-grader at Frankton Elementary School scored 602 on the English portion and 674 on the math portion of the test. He’s confident that he can score well again in the second set of ISTEP tests in the spring.
“It was fairly easy,” said Crider, 12.
But Crider is the exception, not the rule. When the Indiana Department of Education released ISTEP scores on Thursday, the results were decidedly mixed for Frankton schools, part of Frankton-Lapel Community Schools.
Scores were up among third-, fifth- and seventh-graders, but down for fourth-, sixth-, eighth- and 10th-graders. Just 60 percent of Crider’s sixth-grade classmates passed both sections of the test, down from 71 percent in 2007.
Frankton third-graders, meanwhile, improved their scores on both portions of the test, as well as the overall passing rate, which rose to 78 percent.
“For the first six weeks, we do a lot of intense review,” said Susanne Shiveley, a Frankton third-grade teacher. “’Congruence,’ ‘symmetry,’ these are words the kids haven’t heard all summer.”
Administrative assistant Karen Richardson said teachers of all grades received a packet of learning materials from the Department of Education the second week of school. They may incorporate as much or as little as they feel is necessary.
Kathy Stoops, another third-grade teacher, said Frankton’s Cornerstone computer program has helped students improve. Held four times per week for students in grades 3-6, it allows students to move at their own pace through interactive material.
She said ISTEP testing can be daunting for her students.
“For third-graders, it’s their first time taking a paper-and-pencil test,” Stoops said. “These are 8-year-olds who have never filled in bubbles before. They weren’t thrilled about taking it the first time, and they’re not going to like it when they have to take it again.”
That goes for the staff at Frankton Elementary School, too. Fifth-graders improved their overall passing rate to 81 percent, but teacher Tifinie Voiles is still on guard.
“Sometimes ISTEP will throw us a curve,” Voiles said. “They’ll tweak it. They’ll use different terminology from what we teach. So it’s always that fear of the unknown.”
Crider has been moved into Frankton’s “higher ability” program for both reading and math. He wants to be a fighter pilot, but he called social studies his favorite subject.
“The different civilizations, how they rose and fell,” he said, explaining his interest. “There’s a proverb that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
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— There’s a world of difference between elementary and middle school, as illustrated by students in Frankton. Just 60 percent of sixth-graders at Frankton Elementary School passed both the English and math portions of the ISTEP exams, down from 71 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, 74 percent of seventh-graders at Frankton Junior-Senior High School made the grade, up from 68 percent the year before. English and math also fell (9 and 5 percent) for sixth-graders, while rising for seventh-graders, including a 92 percent passage rate in math.
Local Education
ISTEP: Results mixed for Frankton
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Academic Accolades: May 27
A compilation of academic news as published in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
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Well-behaved students rewarded with carnival
A “Can you survive the yuck?” game was one of many offered at the Student Appreciation Program held inside and on the outdoor grounds of AHS on Friday.
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Indiana Christian Academy students look ahead to summer
Tantalizing Florida vacations filled with sun, sand, sea and Disney shimmered like diamonds strewn across a distant shore for several kids awaiting pickup on the last day of classes at Indiana Christian Academy Thursday.
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AHS rewarding well-behaved students
Anderson High School is holding its Student Appreciation Program (SAP) Friday for students who meet or surpass several requirements.
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AHS will hold student appreciation day
Anderson High School is holding its Student Appreciation Program Friday for students who meet or surpass several requirements.
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Anderson High School choir to sing with Foreigner
When Julie Wood received an email from Hoosier Park Racing & Casino about an “exciting opportunity,” the Anderson High School director of choral activities thought it was a joke.
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Haffner becomes 44th winner of Red Haven Award
Pendleton Heights now has both the old and the new Red Haven Award trophy for its case at school.
When PH’s Ellie McCardwell won the award in 2010, the long-standing trophy was retired, and because the Arabians had the last winner, the school was able to permanently house that hardware.
On Tuesday, when the Anderson Noon Exchange Club presented the 2012 winner, it went to Pendleton Heights’ Abbie Haffner. So for the next 12 months, PH will be home to both the new traveling trophy, first presented a year ago to Lapel’s Leigh Steele, and the old one. -
Anderson Learning Academy withdraws charter application
When Anderson Learning Academy’s board first started seeking charter status, it was to help make changes in education as graduation rates and ISTEP scores were low in the public school system.
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Haffner, McFerran get Dickmann Awards
Alexandria-Monroe High School senior Michael McFerran and Pendleton Heights senior Abbie Haffner received the annual Dickmann Youth Community Service Awards on Tuesday during the Anderson Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon at Anderson Country Club.
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Historic Preservation Commission turns down school board
Arguments were made over historical significance, sentimental value, structural stability, safety and finances during a Historic Preservation Commission meeting Monday evening discussing whether to grant South Madison Community Schools board’s proposal to demolish the former middle school at 301 S. East St.
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Academic Accolades: May 27
