Elmbrook state test scores come in strong

Students in the Elmbrook School District continue to outpace state averages on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exams - by significant margins in some areas.

And even though scores in some subject areas, including 10th-grade reading and math, saw some decreases from last year, Elmbrook officials said the dips aren't cause for too much alarm.

"There's variations in the test from year to year and it's different groups of kids from year to year, so minor fluctuations aren't anything that are necessarily disconcerting," said Melanie Stewart, Elmbrook director of student learning. "It's fairly common."

Students across Wisconsin in third through eighth grades and 10th grade took the tests in November. Students in third, fifth, six and seventh grade are tested only in reading and math, but students in fourth, eighth and 10th grade also are tested in reading, language, math, science and social studies.

The state Department of Public Instruction released results from the tests last month.

Stewart said the district looks at the results from the exams in a variety of ways, paying particular attention to the performances of subgroups, where students are divided by race, gender and other factors.

Two subgroups the district is focusing on are students with disabilities and students who are economically disadvantaged, Stewart said.

"Those are generally for us and for the state two of the biggest areas we look at," she said.

Stewart also said the district is looking for ways to address the performance gaps that exist between students who are new to Elmbrook and those who come to the district in the middle of elementary school, for instance.

"When we've got kids for several years, those kids are making tremendous gains," she said.

The district uses the WKCE results as a complement to other assessments - including grades, attendance, classroom assessments and other tests - to evaluate which educational practices are working and which ones aren't, Stewart said.

"It's important, but any data cannot be looked at just alone," she said. "You have to look at a variety of things."

AT A GLANCE

Percentage of Elmbrook students scoring proficient or advanced in reading and math on the 2010 Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam: