Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articlesdetailing how area school districts did on the MississippiCurriculum Test and Subject Area Test. Test results were announcedlast week.

Language Arts continue to be the Lawrence County SchoolDistrict’s weak area on Mississippi Curriculum Test resultsreleased recently for the 2005-2006 year, but the district scoredcomparatively or exceeded state averages across the board.

“I’m pleased and I feel like we made progress,” saidSuperintendent Russell Caudill. “Of course, we’d like to see moreschools reach level 5 (in state accreditation).”

The superintendent said Topeka-Tilton Attendance Center retainedits level 5 status for the second consecutive year in stateaccreditation levels that will be officially released by theMississippi Department of Education Aug. 31.

Topeka-Tilton had the highest percentage of proficient studentsin the state in eighth grade math at 92.6 percent. The eighth gradealso placed 10th in the state in reading with a 77.8 percent whilethe sixth grade tied with two other schools in math at 100 percentto top the state.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, all students are alsoevaluated and placed within four major categories that determinetheir proficiency – minimal, basic, proficient and advanced. Alldistricts much move their students from the minimal and basiccategories to the proficient or advanced levels by 2014 or facefederal sanctions.

Monticello Elementary School and Rod Paige Middle School held onto their level 4 state accreditation status. Lawrence County HighSchool also remained unchanged with a level 3 status, Caudillsaid.

New Hebron Attendance Center slipped from a level 4 ranking tolevel 3, but only missed the barrier by a few points, he said. Thatruling will be appealed.

“We’ve made a hold harmless appeal that it won’t be held againstus because of the disruption caused by (Hurricane) Katrina,” thesuperintendent said. “I’m confident we have a good chance of beingraised back to level 4. I think any time you have that significantof a disruption you have an effect.”

The district shined in MCT and Subject Area Testing Programscores released recently. The tests gauge students’ abilities inseveral key subject areas and provide comparisons between the levelof learning students achieve in Lawrence County compared todistricts across the state.

The MCT scores every student in grades two through eight inreading, language arts and mathematics skills. The scores are alsoused as part of a formula to tabulate Adequate Yearly Progress, akey element in the No Child Left Behind Act.

The district’s average mean scores and percentage of studentstesting proficient or advanced were either comparable to orexceeded state averages in all areas.

Language, however, continued to be the district’s weak area. Thesecond grade fell behind the state average mean score by 3.8 pointsand the number of proficient and advanced students trailed thestate by 1.5 points. The fourth grade trailed the state averagemean score slightly by .7 points. In all other grades, the districttopped the averages.

“Language has been our weak area and where we have put emphasisthe last few years,” Caudill said. “Sometimes improvements come insmall chunks and as long as we’re moving in the right direction,I’m pleased with it.”

Last year, the district reduced reading class sizes by puttingmore teachers in the classroom in the early grades, he said, andthe strategy appeared to work based on the increase in test scores.Caudill believes those gains will continue and become evident asthe students advance through the grades.

“Reducing the class size should give us the long-term benefitwe’re looking for and we’re really doing more in the earliergrades,” he said.

The district excelled in junior high school math scores, toppingthe state average mean score by an average of 19.1 in grades sixthrough eight. Caudill credited the incorporation of the Saxon MathProgram in grades one through six a few years ago with thatsuccess.

“In addition to the programs, you have to have the teachers andours do an outstanding job,” he said.

The success of the math program has prompted the district to addSaxon Math to the seventh and eighth grades as a method to boosthigh school Algebra I scores on the SATP, Caudill said.

“The program hasn’t been in place long enough to affect the highschool yet, but we should start seeing some gains there in the nextfew years,” he said.

Algebra I trailed the state average mean score by 11.4 pointsthis year.

In other SATP results, the district also trailed the stateaverage in U.S. History, but scores in Biology I and English IIwere comparable.

Caudill said those scores should improve as students advancebecause the district has focused most of its emphasis on the lowergrades to set the firm foundation needed for success at alllevels.