Lindbergh School District MAP Scores No. 1 in State Two Years Straight

Data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are out, and for the second year in a row, Lindbergh School District’s MAP scores are No. 1 in the state.

Students in third through eighth grade take the Missouri Assessment Program test in math and reading each spring. High school students take an end of course exam in math and communication arts.

The MAP test is aimed at gauging whether students are performing at grade level., which is a component of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The goal of the federal program is to have all students performing at grade level by 2014. In fact, a goal of 2014 is 100 percent proficiency on the MAP test.

This year, in order to meet state benchmarks and make "Adequate Yearly Progress," Missouri schools had to have 72.5 percent of students test at grade level in math and 75.5 percent test at grade level in reading.

Nancy Rathjen, assistant superintendent of curriculum for the Lindbergh School District, said that to say that 100 percent of students are going to score 100 percent by 2014 is a really difficult goal.

“It’s not that we don’t believe that every child can make it—we’ve looked at every student carefully to see what they need,” she said. “I’m not saying that we’re not working toward 100 percent, but some goals are more reachable than others. But, it’s a good goal to word toward all of your students being proficient.”

But for 2011, Lindbergh is at the top of the state, and the district couldn’t be happier.

“I really do think it’s the quality of our teachers and our families. We have very good families that teach their children to work hard and stick with it,” Rathjen said. “It’s the idea of knowing that you can do something and you just have to work hard to achieve it.”

Groups of students also are expected to make the goals and if even one subgroup doesn't, the school doesn't make Adequate Yearly Progress. State officials look at subgroups including white students, black students, students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and students with disabilities, among others.

Just 92 of the 557 districts in the state met the benchmarks for achievement in math and reading this year, according to the preliminary results released Thursday. Nearly 75 percent of schools across the state failed to meet the mark.

“We work very hard on helping students with literacy and making sure they are at grade level or above, whether it’s tested or not—we do the same thing with math,” Rathjen said. “Instruction takes a high priority—it’s bell-to-bell teaching and not a single moment is wasted.”

When schools fail to meet the goals, they face sanctions that range from having to pay for additional tutoring for students to having to allow students to switch to another school in the district that met the benchmarks.

“We haven’t really added a whole lot of new programs, which sometimes you step backward when you try something new,” Rathjen said. “If a student needs additional help, we want to make sure the students get support that they need. It’s hard to say that we prepared for it (the MAP) we are always concentrated on student achievement.”

To see how Lindbergh fared in 2011 MAP testing, visit the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education site.

St. Charles Patch Editor Kalen Ponche contributed to this report.