Students at Southern High School in Anne Arundel County made the most progress of the county?s 12 secondary schools on the mandatory high school assessment tests last year, according to data from the Maryland Department of Education.
Southern High School students increased their scores by 21.8 percentage points on the biology test with 76.5 percent of students passing compared to 54.7 percent passing in 2005. Ninety percent of students passed the government test compared to 64.7 percent last year ? a 25.3 percentage point jump. And 69.7 percent of students passed the algebra exam, a 13.3 percentage point increase over 2005, when only 56.4 percent of students passed.
“There?s no magic wand or silver bullet,” said Jason Dykstra, principal of Southern High. “But I think it?s about focus. I think the county itself has done a good job about communicating the message to our communities that these tests are important, that they?re now required.”
Southern High School, located in Harwood, Md., has 1,232 students enrolled, 20 percent of which are minorities. The school has 96.4 percent of core classes taught by highly-qualified teachers, and had a graduation rate of 85.8 percent in 2005, according to state statistics.
Students in the class of 2009, this year?s sophomores, are required to pass high school assessment tests in English, algebra, biology and government to graduate. Students take the tests once they?ve completed the courses. Most students take the tests in the 10th grade.
Dykstra said he was not aware of any special emphasis given to the assessment tests this year, and instead attributed the school?s progress to parents, teachers and students all realizing the importance of the tests.
According to Maneka Wade, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County Schools, the district did change the sequence of government and history classes to “allow more time for student comprehension and retention of information related to the state assessment.”
Overall, the county?s scores on the government test improved the most ? 19 percentage points ? over the 2005 test results. Anne Arundel students posted a 86.4 percent passage rate in the government test compared to 74.2 percent passage statewide.
