Educational Excellence

By Jim B. Logsdon

What Our Standardized Test Scores Tell Us

Our STAR 9 test scores, the state mandated achievement test, over the past five years have shown some slight improvement. Overall, the City Schools, are slightly above the 50th percentile when compared with other school districts throughout the nation and the state. We lag slightly below the 50th percentile in Spelling and recently one of our junior high schools was sanctioned for failing to improve over prior year's test scores.

I think we can do much better. If elected, I would move heaven and earth to improve the quality of our educational programs. I would do so by utilizing the STAR 9 test to focus in on areas within the curriculum that need improvement in a diagnostic manner. As a professional educator I've been able to work with teachers and staff to substantially improve educational achievement as measured by standardized tests.

After all,the 50th percentile means that half of our students are superior to other students in other schools throughout the country and 50% are inferior to those other students. We can do much better than that!