BUCKEYE, AZ — Improving test scores is a big goal for school districts across Arizona, and one West Valley district saw the highest improvement in comparison to any other district in the state.
According to data crunched by ABC15’s data analyst, the Buckeye Union High School District had the biggest improvement in its spring assessment scores. Eleventh graders typically take the ACT and get measured on English Language Arts and Math while students from third to eighth grade take different state assessments in the same subjects.
The district’s math score went up nine percentage points from 25% in the 21/22 school year to the 22/23 school year at 34%. For English Language Arts, the district saw an improvement of 13% where they were at 22% in the 21/22 school year and 35% in the 22/23 school year.
“All the effort that's put into it, it's kind of gratifying to see the fruits of your labor come to fruition,” said Steve Bebee, the Superintendent of the Buckeye Union High School District.
A few years ago, Bebee said the district put in a literacy initiative to help improve scores. In that initiative, the district put common academic vocabulary posters in every classroom in their high schools, not just English classes. They would also make sure students understood their assignments and would use annotated standards.
“What I mean by that is we define some of the wording in there, and we have them write it out in their own words. They know clearly what the task is. That’s usually what we end up testing them on,” said Micah Blaisdell, an English teacher at Youngker High School.
Blaisdell feels the work they’re doing is helping — and the results show it — especially after the students went through COVID.
“Getting those scores was thrilling, just because that was a worry. Is there a gap? But I feel like the way we're doing things is helping close that gap,” Blaisdell said.
As for math, the Bebee said they’re trying to figure out what else they can do to improve scores.
“We want to make sure we're constantly raising those scores and most of all, we want to make sure kids are learning the mathematical concepts we're teaching,” Bebee said.
While the district saw improvements, which is certainly a win for them, the scores are still either at or slightly below the state average right now.
The statewide average for math scores is at 34% and for English Language Arts, 40%.
“You celebrate the successes we just had but in the same breath, you have to stop and look at our current juniors, and where are they? Because they're the next group that we've got to move forward,” Bebee said. “It's always keeping everything in perspective.”
Both Bebee and Blaisdell say last school year felt like the first fully normal school year after COVID. They hope to keep the momentum going with their initiatives now and constant collaborations with all teachers.
