High marks earn Carrolls state honor
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 7:04 AM PDT
By Carrie Pederson / The Daily News
Printable version
E-mail this articleCarrolls Elementary School is being recognized by State School Superintendent Terry Bergeson as a "School of Distinction" for maintaining high scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
The school fell in the top 5 percent of elementary, middle and high schools, statewide, that met state learning targets in reading and math this year. The targets are based on the school's Adequate Yearly Progress, which measures year-to-year student achievement on the WASL.
Carrolls has maintained high scores over a few years, Principal Jay DeVries said.
He attributes maintaining high test scores to having a small school environment, supportive parents, experienced teachers and constant curriculum.
"We are a family, we know every kid," DeVries said. There are 144 students at Carrolls this year. "Staff has a real belief and expectation that kids can and will learn."
DeVries said teachers use nontraditional materials and methods to meet gaps in learning.
Last year, the WASL scores of third-graders at Carrolls were about 25 percentage points above the state average in reading and 10 percentage points ahead in math.
As a whole district, Kelso third-graders fell just slightly behind the state average of 70.7 percent of students that passed reading and 69.4 percent of students that passed math.
Fourth-graders at Carrolls were also about 10 percentage points ahead of the state average of 57.9 percent and the district average of 59.9 percent in math WASL scores.
The district is proud of work being done at all the schools and at Carrolls to promote excellent student outcomes, said Mark Connolly, Kelso's Director of Elementary Education.
On Oct. 10 DeVries, along with other community representatives, will participate in a special awards ceremony at Mount Rainier High School in King County at 9:30 a.m.
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