NORFOLK
Preliminary results show that at least five of the city's nine middle schools are projected to meet all state benchmarks on standardized tests taken last school year, Superintendent Stephen C. Jones said Wednesday.
A sixth middle school is "too close to call," he said.
If the results hold, it will be an improvement over the previous two years, when no more than three of Norfolk's middle schools met Virginia Department of Education targets - mostly because of struggles on the math exams.
The state will release official results in the next few weeks.
Jones said most of the middle schools "showed double-digit increases" in math pass rates.
"Our staff has really given a great deal of attention to math," Jones told School Board members Wednesday. "We believe there's been significant progress, but obviously we will continue with our efforts."
The state uses pass rates on the math, English, history and science Standards of Learning tests to determine schools' accreditation status.
Those that meet all benchmarks are fully accredited. Missing one or more targets earns a warning. After more than three consecutive years of warnings, a school can be denied accreditation or apply to be conditionally accredited.
All of Norfolk's high schools are projected to be fully accredited, as are all elementary schools but one - Lindenwood Elementary, said School Board member Jim Driggers.
The three middle schools expected to fall short are Blair, Lafayette-Winona and Lake Taylor, he said. Northside is the school that could go either way.
Lake Taylor, which was conditionally accredited last year, is projected to miss state benchmarks for a fifth consecutive year.
In an effort to improve scores and meet state requirements last year, administrators brought in a new principal and assistant principal, revamped the school's math program, and convened a team of state and city educators to closely guide and monitor math instruction.
Driggers said Lake Taylor showed "significant improvement."
He said he was pleased with Norfolk schools' progress but not yet completely satisfied.
"We're not going to sit and rest on our laurels... until everyone is achieving," he said.
Amy Jeter, (757) 446-2730, amy.jeter@pilotonline.com
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Dumbing down to achieve the desired results
does not do anyone any good....the student, parents, or society in general.
What is the deal....
with Lake Taylor? If this school's had problems 5 years in a row this tells me it's more likely to be a teacher problem than a student problem.