RISON - While the staff has yet to dive deep into the results, Superintendent Davy King told the Cleveland County School Board Tuesday night that most of the elementary grades appear to have scored above the state average on the new Arkansas Teaching, Learning & Assessment System (ATLAS) achievement tests.The ATLAS tests were given last May but the results were no released until this week. The tests are designed to evaluate how well students learn the material in certain subject areas.Of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades, King said all but one grade level was “well above the state average.” He explained that ATLAS tests are graded by level, with Level 1 indicating the student news additional instruction, Level 2 indicating the student has achieved the most basic comprehension of the material, and Level 3 and higher indicating that the student has “passed” the standards.King told the school board, which was holding its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night since the regular meeting date conflicted with the Columbus Day school holiday, that the high school staff was still analyzing the results for the upper grade levels.Rison High School Principal Letitia Walker did tell the school board some of the grade levels in high school have made improvement based on the results of their practice tests using the ATLAS questions as a model.Students in the 7th through the 10th grades are tested in literacy, math and science. Walker said the 9th grade is not tested in science.Based on the practice testing for literacy conducted so far this year, she said 25 percent of the students tested in the 7th and 9th grades earned a passing rate. While 25 percent may not seem like a high percentage, Walker pointed out that was based on just a fourth of the material being taught. She said she expects that rate to increase as more of the material is covered in school.As for the other grade levels, she said they ranged from 10 to...
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