Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE -ÊThird graders who score poorly in ISTEP+ are likely to fail a component of the ISTEP+ Graduation Qualifying Exam in tenth grade, Wawasee Schools Superintendent Mark Stock told the school board Tuesday.
"That connection was very strong in math but less so in language arts," Stock said. Nine out of ten who had trouble with the test in third grade did poorly on the test in tenth grade.
The connection between the two grades' performance stems from a profile fifth grade Syracuse Elementary teacher Dr. Robert Coburn conducted this year of the 103 students of the Wawasee High School Class of 2001 who did not pass a part of the tenth grade test. The Class of 2001 is the first class that took ISTEP in 10th grade in order to graduate. They are now seniors.
Stock said the correlation was good news and bad news. It was good news because the school can pinpoint students early who will have difficulty with the testing. Bad news, Stock said, because the corporation had six years to help those students who did not do well in third grade but failed to do so.
Coburn looked at the health conditions, attendance, grades, the students' past ISTEP scores, and discipline of the students for the assessment.
Only five of the 103 students were expelled or disciplined in high school.
Of the 103 students, 27 percent have a learning disability. Thirteen were diagnosed with attention deficient disorder or hyperactivity.
The rate of attendance of the 103 students was the same as the general school population. Approximately 70 percent attended a Wawasee school since elementary, nine began in ninth grade and the starting year for 15 students couldn't be determined. Elementary and middle school attendance was not a factor in the assessment.
The information was presented as part of an overall presentation of the 1999 Annual Performance Report of Wawasee Schools. Each school is required to publish a variety of benchmarks about the actual performance of a school.
In other business, the school board adopted the 2000 budget, capital projects fund and bus replacement plan.
The total general fund of the 2000 budget will be $17,885,602. The debt service fund total is estimated to be $3,371,518. Capital projects fund total is $3,145,283. The transportation operating fund will be $1,449,800 for the upcoming school year. The transportation bus replacement fund total will be $1,794,566 and the special education preschool fund totals $46,000.
The school board approved the budget and lease hearing for the new North Webster Elementary School for Oct. 26, 1999, and approved year-round school hearings for Oct. 12 and Oct. 26.
The board adopted the corporation goals. Those goals include to have quality facilities completed within budget by August 2002; to have all schools within Wawasee Community School Corporation to receive accreditation status; and for students in Wawasee Schools to improve in their math skills.
Also approved were new school policies.
Diploma requirements include a minimum of 38 credits for high school graduation but students must also meet the standards on the ISTEP+ Graduation Qualification Exam as set forth by the Indiana Department of Education to earn a diploma.
Other changes include a world civilization and an economic class. Tougher restrictions on credits earned for high school equivalent courses in grade eight would also be added.
Eligibility for an academic honors program would require a student's science credits to include two credits in biology and two credits in chemistry or physics and two additional credits in one of the more advanced science courses or a program of "equal rigor."
Foreign language credits needed to receive the academic honors diploma include six credits in one language or four credits in one and four in another language.
A student must have a GPA of "B" or above to receive the academic honors. Only earned grades of "C" or above may count toward an academic honors diploma.
