Nearly seven out of every 10 Nebraska students tested on the state’s first-ever statewide reading test met or exceeded the state’s reading standards. Nebraska Education Commissioner Roger Breed recently announced the test results on the newly revised Nebraska reading standards . Reading standards determine what students should know and be able to do in specific grades.
“While we are pleased that nearly 69 percent of our students have the reading skills rehired to meet or do better than the standards we set as a state, we can always do better and I am confident that we will in the years ahead,” he said. “These reading scores set a new baseline for evaluating student skills and our schools. The results represent a number of ‘firsts.’ The first time all Nebraska students took the same grade appropriate test. The first test based on our newly revised reading standards. The first time students could take a state test online. The first test results for comparing schools.
Public school students in grades three through eight and 11th graders took the reading test in March and April. Of the 147,337 students tested, 84 percent took the test online and the remainder took a paper/pencil version of the test. Scale scores range from zero to 200. Students with an 85 or higher score met or exceeded standards. Students scoring 84 or lower were considered below standards.
District #18 Superintendent Steve Dennis said the goal of the district is to have everyone excel. He said the information will provide teachers and administration with valuable data with which to review the reading program in the years ahead.
In addition to these results, test scores for school districts and individual school buildings are available through the Nebraska Department of Education’s homepage at www.education.ne.gov and at http://www.education.ne.gov/nesainitial.
At Elgin Public Schools, the numbers break down as follows:
Grade 3 (11 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 89; % Below Standards — 55%; % Meets Standards — 36%; % Exceeds Standards — 9%. Statewide, 67 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 4 (# of students tested not released) — Average Scale Score — 137; % Below Standards — 0%; % Meets Standards — 71%; % Exceeds Standards — 29%. Statewide, 67 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 5 (15 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 110; % Below Standards — 27%; % Meets Standards — 47%; % Exceeds Standards — 27%. Statewide, 67 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 6 (11 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 123; % Below Standards — 9%; % Meets Standards — 55%; % Exceeds Standards — 36%. Statewide, 68 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 7 (12 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 121; % Below Standards — 8%; % Meets Standards — 50%; % Exceeds Standards — 42%. Statewide, 69 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 8 (12 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 121; % Below Standards — 8%; % Meets Standards — 42%; % Exceeds Standards — 50%. Statewide, 70 percent met or exceeded standards.
Grade 11 (14 students tested) — Average Scale Score — 119; % Below Standards — 7%; % Meets Standards — 71%; % Exceeds Standards — 21%. Statewide, 68 percent met or exceeded standards.
