Knowledge and concepts not a problem here

Statewide test scores throughout four area school districts all stayed well above state averages, but the respective school administrators still see plenty of room for improvement.

School officials are still diving into the data after the state Department of Public Instruction released results of the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, a state test taken in November.

High school sophomores and students in grades 3 through 8 take the reading and math sections. In addition being tested in those two subjects, students in fourth, eighth and 10th grades are tested in science, language arts and social studies.

The standardized test is administrated to more than 430,000 students across the state to assess students' performance. Students are ranked as minimal, basic, proficient or advanced in each subject based on expectations established by Wisconsin educators.

Oak Creek-Franklin

The Oak Creek-Franklin School District was pleased to see scores in reading continue an upward trend. It's a subject that has been a point of emphasis for the past few years, curriculum coordinator Chad Evenson said.

The percentage of advanced and proficient students in reading rose in fourth, fifth, seventh and 10th grades. Officials were also pleased with gains made within subgroups, which are organized by factors such as race, disability and economic status.

"As a whole, we're encouraged by what we've seen," Evenson said.

The district will next focus on improving scores on the math portion, which Evenson said has stayed flat for the last several years.

Greendale

Greendale annually has among the highest scores out of Milwaukee County school districts, and this year was no different. Compared to Whitnall, Oak Creek-Franklin and Franklin, Greendale had the highest percentage of students scoring advanced and proficient in all five subjects.

But administrators still see room for improvement, such as math at the elementary level, said Kim Amidzich, director of assessment and learning. She pointed out the percentage of fifth-graders who were advanced and proficient in math dropped from 94.7 to 87.8 percent.

While that percentage is still far above the state average of 77.3 percent, officials are examining how teachers deliver math instruction.

"As a school system, we are effective," Amidzich said. "We're very pleased with the results overall, but part of the reason why we are effective is because we nitpick areas we could improve."

Franklin

Franklin Public School District officials were happy that elementary math scores continued to go up, increasing eight to 10 points over the last several years, said Mike Zellmer, director of assessment and learning.

Zellmer said he hopes the district will start to see scores consistently high through all grades. As students get older, scores tend to "moderate" - a statewide trend he hopes the district can buck, he added.

"We're never really satisfied all the way," he said. "We want to continue to work with all of our kids to have them achieve their maximum potential. Test scores are just one measure of that. We have several other measures we work with internally."

Whitnall

Among all students in the Whitnall School District, the percentage of advanced and proficient students was higher than last year in reading, math and science while lower in language arts and social studies.

School officials were particularly pleased with the results of high school science and eighth-grade reading. This year's 10th-graders jumped up 2.2 percentage points on the science portion, from 84.2 to 86.4 percent, compared to last year's sophomores.

"Among the districts that I use for comparison, we have done very well either at holding comparison scores or achieving higher scores," said Sally Habanek, assistant superintendent of curriculum and staff development.

"But there definitely is growing disparity among the districts that are performing well and those that are performing at lower levels, with less of a middle ground in the Milwaukee area."

AT A GLANCE

Here is how local WKCE results compare with those statewide for 2009-10. Percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced:

*Numbers in parentheses are percentages from 2008-09.