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NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊThe ISTEP scores are in, but they are not what teachers and principals at Manchester Community School expected.
The scores for English are lower in four of the eight grade levels, while the scores for math are lower in six of the eight grade levels. The percentage of students passing both math and English was lower in four of the eight grade levels tested.
Students in fourth, fifth, and ninth grade this year earned scores lower in math, English and overall percentage than those in 2004.
"Principals are working now to determine why there were drops and what to do about the drops," said Manchester Community Schools Superintendent Diana Showalter.
The principals will address the school board with their findings at the last meeting in January or the first meeting in February, said Showalter.
The only level to see an increase in math, English and overall passing percentages was this year's sixth grade. Eighty-three percent of this year's sixth-graders passed the English portion of the ISTEPs, compared to 79 percent last year. The sixth-grade math scores improved from 74 percent to 83 percent, while the overall percentage of students passing both portions of the test in 2005 was 77 percent, up from 67 percent last year.
The biggest drop came at the fifth-grade level in math. Seventy-one percent of this year's fifth-graders passed the math portion of the ISTEP, 16 percent less than 2004's 87 percent.
The eighth-grade level saw the biggest drop in English scores. In 2004, 71 percent of eighth-graders passed the English portion of the ISTEP, compared to 59 percent in 2005. That represents an 11-percent drop in the scores.
The biggest increase in the passing percentage was in sixth-grade math. The number of students passing, 83 percent, is 9 percent higher than 2004's 74 percent.
