The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters students continue to score higher than state average in the Oregon Statewide Assessment tests.

The test scores were released last week by the Oregon Department of Education. They are the result of the sixth battery of tests given since testing began in 1961 to measure how well the students are doing in math and reading.

Scores for sisters students remained consistent with those of previous years. The third grade scores for math, which had dropped in 1995, were improved (199 to 202), but not quite as high as the 1993 and 1994 scores of 205.

Sisters School Superintendent Steve Swisher said it is not unusual for small school districts with good teaching staffs to do a little better than the metropolitan area districts. He pointed out that when compared to other

districts of similar size and socioeconomic characteristics, Sisters' scores generally are in the middle of the range.

Swisher had little to say about the scores at this time. He and other school officials will be studying the test results over the next few weeks to determine if the scores are where they want them to be and if not, how they can be improved.

Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction Norma Paulus, on the other hand, was quick to express disappointment in the failure of the statewide scores to show significant improvement in math.

"I've been announcing the same dismal math scores for five years," she said.

Paulus said she would appeal to school boards throughout the state to set tougher standards, increase teacher training and promote voluntary tutoring and math clubs.

New math teaching systems were approved by the Sisters School Board on August 12, before the test scores were released. Teachers testified before the board that the new system and books provide greater continuity between grades.

They also improve flexibility permitting teachers to adapt the math courses to individual student learning abilities and problems.

When compared to other Central Oregon schools, Sisters continued to compare favorably. Using combined math and reading scores, Sisters was generally on the high end of the range. Sisters High School tenth graders, however, scored highest in the region.