By VICKI URBANIK

Duneland School students met or exceeded the state average on both the English and math portions of this year’s ISTEP-plus tests (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress).

The Indiana Department of Education on Wednesday released the ISTEP scores for all grade levels. The ISTEP is given to all students in grades 3 through 10 in the fall.

Statewide, the results show that 71 percent of Indiana students at all grade levels passed the English/language arts exam, while 74 percent passed math.

In most grade levels in Duneland, at least 70 percent of the students passed the ISTEP tests. The highest percentage of students passing were in Jackson Elementary’s third grade, where 90 percent of the students passed English, and in Westchester Intermediate’s sixth grade, where 91 percent of the students passed the math test.

At St. Patrick’s School, all students in grades 3, 7 and 8 passed both portions of ISTEP, while 100 percent of the sixth graders passed the math test.

All ISTEP information, including performance data for each school corporation and school, is available online at www.doe.state.in.us/istep

The following shows how Porter County students fared on ISTEP. The Duneland School Corporation results are listed first, with the state average for that grade, followed by the school corporation’s percentage overall and then each grade at each school.

Third Grade

State overall: Passing both, 63%. Passing English, 75%. Passing math, 70%.

Duneland overall: Passing both, 71%. Passing English, 85%. Passing math, 77%.

Bailly: Both, 72%. English, 84%. Math, 78%.

Brummit: Both, 66%. English, 85%. Math, 72%.

Liberty: Both, 68%. English, 83%. Math, 73%.

Jackson: Both, 79%. English, 90%. Math, 84%.

Yost: Both, 71%. English, 84%. Math, 79%.

Fourth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 66%. Passing English, 74%. Passing math, 75%.

Duneland overall: Passing both, 75%. Passing English, 85%. Pasing math, 81%.

Bailly: Both, 77%. English, 89%. Math, 84%.

Brummit: Both, 66%. English, 77%. Math, 75%.

Liberty: Both, 76%. English, 88%. Math, 81%.

Jackson: Both, 84 %. English, 88%. Math, 88%.

Yost: Both, 71%. English, 79%. Math, 78 %.

Fifth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 67%. Passing English, 75%. Passing math, 77%.

Westchester Intermediate: Both, 71%. English, 81%. Math, 78%.

Liberty Intermediate: Both, 71%. English, 78%. Math, 80%.

Sixth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 67%. Passing English, 72%. Passing math, 80%.

Westchester Intermediate: Both, 81%. English, 84%. Math, 91%.

Liberty Intermediate: Both, 74%. English, 77%. Math, 85%.

Seventh Grade

State overall: Passing both, 65%. Passing English, 70%. Passing math, 79%.

Chesterton Middle School: Passing both, 78%. Passing English, 80%. Passing math, 89%.

Eighth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 62%. Passing Enlgish, 69%. Passing math, 74%.

Chesterton Middle School: Passing both, 71%. Passing English, 79%. Passing math, 78%.

Ninth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 59%. Passing English, 66%. Passing math, 70%.

Chesterton High School: Passing both, 76%. Passing English, 82%. Passing math, 81%.

Tenth Grade

State overall: Passing both, 58%. Passing English, 67%. Passing math, 66%.

Chesterton High School: Passing both, 71%. Passing English, 79%. Passing math, 75%.

St. Patrick’s School

Third Grade: English, 100%. Math, 100%.

Fourth Grade: English, 93%. Math, 95%.

Fifth Grade: English, 95%. Math, 97%.

Sixth Grade: English, 98%. Math, 100%.

Seventh Grade: English, 100%. Math, 100%.

Eighth Grade: English, 100%. Math, 100%.

Other Porter County Schools

Third Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 76%. English, 86%. Math, 82%.

Portage: Passing both, 76%. English, 81%. Math, 83%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 87%. English, 93%. Math, 90%.

Union: Passing both, 78%. English, 91%. Math, 80%.

Boone.: Passing both, 85%. English, 93%. Math, 91%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 65%. English, 85%. Math, 73%.

Fourth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 80%. English, 87%. Math, 87%.

Portage: Passing both, 72%. English, 76%. Math, 90%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 83%. English, 86%. Math, 93%.

Union: Passing both, 84%. English, 90%. Math, 89%.

Boone: Passing both, 70%. English, 90%. Math, 71%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 75%. English, 82%. Math, 80%.

Fifth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 83%. English, 87%. Math, 86%.

Portage: Passing both, 77%. English, 83%. Math, 88%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 88%. English, 90%. Math, 93%.

Union: Passing both, 81%. English, 86%. Math, 89%.

Boone: Passing both, 77%. English, 85%. Math, 81%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 76%. English, 83%. Math, 82%.

Sixth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 85%. English, 89%. Math, 90%.

Portage: Passing both, 76%. English, 79%. Math, 87%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 84%. English, 85%. Math, 93%.

Union: Passing both, 82%. English, 85 %. Math, 91%.

Boone: Passing both, 80%. English, 84%. Math, 92%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 63%. English, 75%. Math, 72%.

Seventh Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 79%. English, 84%. Math, 85%.

Portage: Passing both, 69%. English, 76%. Math, 80%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 88%. English, 89%. Math, 94%.

Union: Passing both, 83%. English, 83%. Math, 93%.

Boone: Passing both, 80%. English, 83%. Math, 86%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 59%. English, 68%. Math, 72%.

Eighth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 78%. English, 85%. Math, 84%.

Portage: Passing both, 70%. English, 74%. Math, 82%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 81%. English, 84%. Math, 89%.

Union: Passing both, 83%. English, 85 %. Math, 92%.

Boone: Passing both, 79%. English, 84%. Math, 87%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 66%. English, 69%. Math, 86%.

Ninth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 76%. English, 81%. Math, 85%.

Portage: Passing both, 58%. English, 64%. Math, 75%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 73%. English, 85%. Math, 81%.

Union: Passing both, 89%. English, 91%. Math, 94%.

Boone: Passing both, 70%. English, 78%. Math, 73%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 72%. English, 79%. Math, 83%.

Tenth Grade

Valparaiso: Passing both, 79%. English, 83%. Math, 83%.

Portage: Passing both, 55%. English, 65%. Math, 67%.

East Porter County: Passing both, 69%. English, 81%. Math, 75%.

Union: Passing both, 85%. English, 89%. Math, 86%.

Boone: Passing both, 80%. English, 88%. Math, 81%.

Porter Twp.:Passing both, 61%. English, 72%. Math, 72%.

Indiana ISTEP scores improve slightly at some grade levels

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Statewide testing results show a slight improvement over last year in many grades, but the students who made the most gains were in middle schools.

Overall, nearly 72 percent of students in grades 3-10 passed the English portion of the ISTEP exam in 2007, while 74 percent passed the math section. Those results are up slightly from last year, when about 70 percent passed the English and a little more than 72 percent passed math.

The biggest jumps in the results released Wednesday came for seventh- and eighth-graders.

For example, 74 percent of eighth-graders statewide passed the math portion, an increase of 3 percentage points over last year. About 69 percent of eighth-graders passed the English section — up 2 percentage points from 2006.

State officials can’t pinpoint exactly why middle school grades would see the most improvement, but part of the answer may be found in Indiana’s education standards.

Indiana enacted academic standards for each grade in 2000, specifying what students should learn in each grade. Students now in middle school have spent much of their educational career learning those standards before moving on to the next grade level. That may have given them a more solid education foundation and helped boost scores, said Wes Bruce, who oversees testing for the Indiana Department of Education.

Suellen Reed, the state’s superintendent for public instruction, said middle schools have worked hard to improve scores.

“Teachers are dedicated to making a difference,” she said.

At Emma Donnan Middle School in Indianapolis, 54 percent of eighth-graders passed the math portion of the test, a big improvement over last year, when just 41 percent passed. The improvement was good news for the school, where more than 90 percent of students come from needy families.

Principal Dexter Suggs said the school moved its start date to July and uses computer-based tests to make sure students are on track throughout the year. He said teachers are also working to renew their focus on success.

“We had a situation where dedicated people were determined to make a difference,” Suggs said.

Although middle school students seemed to make more progress than others, the test results still show a trend of declining passing rates as students move to higher grades.

About 75 percent of third-graders statewide passed the English exam, compared to just 67 percent of 10th-graders. The same drop can be seen in the math test and in national data. Educators believe some students struggle to learn the more complex material introduced as they progress through school.

ISTEP results are used to help determine which schools make yearly progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The Indiana Department of Education will later release data on whether schools and districts made that adequate yearly progress.

ISTEP results for individual districts and schools can be found on the Department of Education’s Web site: www.doe.state.in.us/istep

ISTEP year by year

Percentage of students passing English portion of exam:

STUDENTS 2004 2005 2006 2007

Grade 3 75 75 74 75

Grade 4 73 73 75 74

Grade 5 72 73 74 75

Grade 6 70 71 71 72

Grade 7 68 68 68 70

Grade 8 67 68 67 69

Grade 9 67 67 67 66

Grade 10 68 68 66 67

Percentage of students passing the math portion of exam:

STUDENTS 2004 2005 2006 2007

Grade 3 73 73 72 70

Grade 4 73 75 75 75

Grade 5 72 76 76 77

Grade 6 75 78 80 80

Grade 7 73 76 77 79

Grade 8 71 72 71 74

Grade 9 68 70 67 70

Grade 10 64 64 65 66

Posted 12/13/2007