By MaryHelen Swanson

The Minnesota Department of Education recently released test results for the 2007 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in reading and math. Superintendent Vern Koepp said last week that Rush City schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) as a district and in every subgroup at Jacobson Elementary and the high school.

"No areas were identified as ‘needs improvement,'" he said.

The state AYP system establishes targets and monitors progress toward targets for proficiency in math and reading, participation in math and reading tests, attendance, and graduation rates.

Indicating he was very pleased, Koepp said, "Rush City teachers have worked to align the local curriculum and instruction to the Minnesota Academic Standards in reading, math, and writing. Reading has received more attention and test scores for reading have been more stable."

"A systematic analysis of the math curriculum was initiated during 2006-07 and as a result, there will be some changes to math instruction for 2007-08.

Explaining the process to the Post Review, Koepp said the district had mapped out all ways a student could take in grades 7-12 to meet the math ( ).

"We discovered in our alignment process," he went on, "several pathways did not prepare students well for the state tests.

He said two of the 10-12 math course pathways were eliminated in grades 7-12.

In addition, at the end of spring, the school board approved the creation of a math resource room at the high school which will be used to assist students in grades 7-12 who need more personal attention in math.

Koepp also noted that the new math curriculum that was initiated in the elementary school three years ago an appears to be paying off.

On the state math tests, he continued, the students have been above average more than below average, which is a turnaround.

"So," he said, of the new elementary curriculum, "it's doing what we wanted it to do."

Compared to state proficiency averages Rush City students scored 56.4 percent in math while the state average was 60.6 percent.

For reading, Rush City students scored 71.4 percent while the state average was 68.2 percent.

For the 10th grade writing test, Rush City students scored 97.7 percent while the state average was 91.8 percent and for the 9th grade writing test, Rush City students scored 92.9 percent while the state average was 90.8.

"This is great news," commented Koepp.

"Our teachers and students take the state standards seriously and it's good to see positive test results.

"We will continue to evaluate our curriculum and instruction, looking for ways we can improve, but we are very pleased to be making adequate yearly progress in all areas."

As soon as the district receives a hard copy from the Minnesota Department of Education, individual results will be mailed to the homes of Rush City students.

This is expected to come sometime late this month or early in September.