School district reports progress on math scores

By Michael S. Hoey

Correspondent

Delavan-Darien School District fifth-graders scored average and one step away from above average on standardized testing conducted last year, according to Director of Instruction Cora Rund.

Rund presented the findings to the Delavan-Darien School board Monday. Rund said the fifth-grade students and students from lower grades took the McGraw-Hill test Terranova 3. McGraw-Hill also makes the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, which is a criterion-based test in which all students are expected to score proficient or advanced proficient to be successful. The Terranova 3 is “norm-referenced,” which results in more of a bell-curve set of results, Rund said.

Rund said fifth-graders at Turtle Creek Elementary scored on average 43, well within the “average” range. Students at Wileman and Darien elementary schools scored 63 and 60, one step below the “above-average” range. All three schools scored better than they did on the WKCE, and the differences between regular education and special education students were narrower. Results for other grade levels are not in yet.

Rund said the test will help teachers develop common assessments and provide data that will help teachers better determine what students need.

Equity council

Director of Pupil Services and Special Education Sara Halberg told the board a new Equity Council is being formed and will meet four to six times a year with representation from students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

“It will listen to the community about what we can do to address equity issues in the district,” Halberg said.

Lake Lawn work

Halberg also reported to the board a new partnership with Lake Lawn Resort. Four special education students will work at Lake Lawn this school year. The district will provide supervision, and Lake Lawn will provide work experience. Halberg said the intention is to expand the program in the future.

Open enrollment denied

The board approved accepting three incoming students to the district through open enrollment but on the recommendation of Superintendent Robert Crist denied 13 applications to leave the district.

“I think a statement needs to be made that we have good programs here, and I don’t know that another district can provide a better education,” Crist said.