Evanston District 65 holds lead over state ISAT results
BY KAREN BERKOWITZ kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com October 25, 2011 1:20PM
Updated: November 28, 2011 8:19AM
Students in Evanston-Skokie School District 65 passed 89 percent of all ISAT exams last spring, holding on to a seven-point lead over statewide averages as achievement continued to inch upward.
The overall passing rate in School District 65 edged up from 88 to 89 percent, keeping pace with the state’s improvement from 81 to 82 percent.
Wider margins were seen in the highest achievement category, exceeds standards. In fifth grade mathematics, for instance, 46 percent of District 65 students excelled, compared to 19 percent of all Illinois students. In fifth-grade reading, 47 percent of District 65 students placed in the “exceeds” category, compared to 27 percent across the state.
The district released the report cards for its 15 schools and the district in advance of Monday’s Board of Education meeting.
Looking at individual schools, the overall passing rate improved most dramatically at Oakton Elementary School, where students passed 81 percent of the 2011 tests, compared to 74 percent in 2010. The figure is based on results in reading, math and science across all tested grade levels. Oakton serves the highest proportion of low-income students of any school in District 65.
Other schools posting overall improvement included Dewey, where the passing rate rose from 90 to 94 percent; Lincoln, where the passing rate climbed from 84 to 89 percent; and Walker, where students passed 86 percent of the exams, compared to 81 percent in 2010.
A shared distinction
This year, Dewey and the Bessie Rhodes Magnet School shared the distinction of posting the highest passing rates in the district, which in recent years has gone to Willard.
Washington School had reason to celebrate its success on the 2011 exams. After two years in federal School Improvement status, Washington School made enough headway in reading and math to see its flag lifted.
Principal Kate Ellison attributes the progress to intensive collaboration among teachers, focused on student achievement.
“It’s really about the power of getting lots of heads together around the table,” Ellison said, noting the school used the intervention process known as RTI, for Response to Intervention, as an opportunity to dig deep into student achievement data and brainstorm ideas for giving students the support most needed.
Ellison said groundwork was laid during the summer of 2010, when staff members looked at schedules and co-teaching assignments to make sure time was built into the day for shared planning.
“It’s really been an all-hands-on-deck approach,” said Ellison.
Washington School is the most diverse school in the district.
Ironically, Oakton’s strides in reading and math, the subjects counted under the No Child Left Behind law, were not enough to spare the school from fallout. The school was required to offer transfer options to families, and 27 students opted to enroll their children in one of the alternatives offered by District 65.
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