HPS Students Exceed State Reading Standards
August 26, 2010
Holdrege Public Schools' students performed very well on the first statewide reading assessment according to the results released by the Nebraska Department of Education today. The percentage of HPS students meeting and exceeding the state standards was exceptional compared to local districts, the Central 10 Conference schools, and statewide percentages.
HPS Percentages Compared with Statewide Percentages
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 |
| HPS | 82% | 88% | 87% | 82% | 81% | 81% | 81% |
| State | 67% | 70% | 67% | 68% | 69% | 70% | 68% |
Students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 participated in the NeSA-Reading assessment along with students all over the state in the spring of 2010. NeSA is the Nebraska State Accountability system responsible for administering the high stakes tests required by the state legislature with the passage of LB 653 in 2007-2008. Nebraska’s new single, statewide testing system replaces STARS, the former local assessment system. Math will be assessed along with reading in the spring of 2011 and the science test will be added in 2012.
Improving reading for all students in all curricular areas is the school improvement goal for Holdrege Public Schools. The elementary schools, middle school, and high school are developing instructional strategies to improve reading for all students. These NeSA-Reading scores will be one piece of data that the district will use to measure student progress as teachers adapt reading instruction with the goal of improving student reading skills. HPS teachers will continue to use student data in their Whole Faculty Study Group (WFSG) meetings on Friday afternoons to improve student learning.
While the family of each student participating in the test will receive a report on their child’s performance, the child’s teacher will continue to be the best source of information on how well an individual child is learning. Multiple assessment results should be considered when determining a student’s progress. National test results and the child’s classroom test results are just as important as the NeSA. The challenge for all schools is to use the results to show improvement over time.
