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Changing W.Va. Education System

Northern Panhandle public schools appear to be making some progress in improving students’ scores on the state standardized test. But results are only slightly better than last year — and remain shockingly low.

As a detailed in a story on page one of today’s newspaper, there was improvement in test scores for reading and mathematics in nearly all of our six counties. Only in Ohio and Tyler counties was there some slippage, in reading scores.

State Department of Education officials report average scores based on percentages of students whose test scores reflect the state’s definition of grade-level proficiency in subjects. What continues to be distressing is that in reading and math, fewer than half the students in our area are judged to be proficient. In no case were county averages for Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler counties above 60 percent.

State averages for all grades are even worse, at 46.97 percent proficiency in reading and 29.98 percent in mathematics.

Progress since last year, the first time the current Summative Assessment test was used, has been minuscule. The state average for reading was up just slightlly more than 2 points. In math, the improvement was slightly more than 3 points.

And in our area, where many residents pride ourselves on having some of the best schools in the state, the improvement was in the same range in most counties.

It just isn’t good enough.

As we have pointed out more than once, something is badly wrong with the education system in West Virginia. Teachers and administrators did not suddenly grow lazy and less competent during the past several years. Students did not become less capable of learning.

We made precisely that observation about a year ago. We have personal knowledge of efforts made to improve test scores in several local counties since then.

By definition, however, all had to work within the existing flawed system. Virtually nothing has been said at the state level about changing it.

How long must this go on?

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