Middle Schools Perform Poorly In Math
By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
Alexandria City Public Schools’ 13 elementary schools are fully accredited, according to the Standards of Learning results, which were just released this week. T. C. Williams High School also achieved full accreditation. Both George Washington and Francis Hammond middle schools failed to meet the Virginia State standard because of low math scores.
The scores, which were given to school districts throughout the Commonwealth late last week, were released to the public late Wednesday night. They show continued progress in all areas at the elementary school level, poor performance in math and social studies at the middle school level and some rebound in these areas at the City’s one high school. Jefferson-Houston Elementary School and Maury Elementary School, which have had problems with accreditation in the recent past, both met the State standards of a combined adjusted pass rate of at least 75% on English tests in grades 3-5; an adjusted pass rate of 70% in mathematics, grade 5 science and Virginia studies and pass rates of at least 50 % in grade 3 science and history. In grades 6-12, schools must achieve a 70% pass rate in all four content areas: math, science, English and history.
School Performance
Three elementary schools, George Mason, Douglas MacArthur and Samuel Tucker, achieved pass rates of above 90% in all content areas. Jefferson-Houston the most troubled of the elementary schools had a pass rate of 79% in English, 82% in math, 71% in history and 76% in science. Maury, a school that has shown steady improvement, had a pass rate of 79% in English, 82% in math, 87% in history and 85% in science.
Both George Washington and Hammond middle schools did reasonably well in English, with pass rates of 80% and 83% respectively. Math continues to be a problem and was the reason why neither school is accredited this year. GW had a pass rate in math of 63% while Hammond had a pass rate of 61% pass rate.
T. C. students overcame these deficits, earning a pass rate in algebra I of 78%, a pass rate of 74% in geometry and a pass rate of 87% in algebra II. In history, the other problem area at the middle school level, T. C. students earned a pass rate of 91% in VAUS history; a pass rate of 79% in World History I and a pass rate of 84% in World Hisotry II.
The scores have not been adjusted and could change once ACPS administrators have had an opportunity to fully review them.
2008 SOL Estimated Adjusted Passing Percentages
(Source: ACPS )