Students from Blytheville High School recently scored high enough on their Algebra 1 exams to make BHS one of the most improved schools in the entire state.
As eighth-grade Algebra 1 students state-wide get ready to move on to the ninth grade they are required to take, and pass, a "high stakes" exam at the end of the course. The exam determines if the student is ready to move on to the next level and ultimately decides whether they graduate or not.
This year BHS students taking the tests were able to improve their scores by 28 percent over last year's marks. The improvements tied BHS for the eighth-most improved school in the state for the Algebra 1 exams. Where the teachers have pushed the students to succeed, they admit that the students have had a big change in their attitude toward the exam.
"One of the things that has brought about some improvement is the urgency that these kids face with the high stakes that they face with these end-of-course tests," said Shane Spears, math teacher at BHS.
Students could make a passing grade in the class and still technically not pass unless they pass the end-of-course exams, according to Spears. Despite one's score in the overall class, if they do not meet state requirements they do not receive credit for the class, a class they cannot graduate without.
Paul Jenkins, math teacher at BHS, said the teachers have put in a lot of "extra effort" to make sure their students get the help they need and are able to succeed in the class.
"We have tutoring four days a weeks after school and we have three teachers that stay to teach that," Jenkins said. "Almost all of the math teachers stay until 4:00 or 4:30 working with the curriculum."
According to Spears and Jenkins, the school works to make sure that the importance of these exams are ingrained into the students from the moment they get to school.
The entire year's curriculum, including all quizzes, exams and homework, are designed to be at the same level as the tests in an attempt to keep students prepared year-round.
Where the teachers push the students to do well, it's only because they they truly believe the students can do the work, said Sally Cooke, curriculum coordinator for Blytheville Public Schools.
"I think it's the level of expectations from all of their teachers, not just in math, to do well," said Cooke. "The atmosphere at this high school has changed so much over the last few years. Teachers expect to see students succeed and they tell them they can succeed."
Along with math improvements, BHS students also showed a 22.8 percent gain in literacy, just missing the 23 percent improvement required to move into the top 20 in the state.
This too can be attributed to the rise in math scores as reading and comprehension often plays a very big role in math at this level, according to Spears.
According to Jenkins, if the students could show another huge leap like this one they would most likely be able to move away from required improvement scores and could be proficient overall in Algebra 1.
cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com