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Two different pictures are painted when you look at which schools showed the biggest growth and which schools met state and federal standards this past year.

For example: Cape Girardeau's Central Junior High is classified as failing in communication arts (reading and writing). Fifty-one percent of students were expected to be proficient or advanced on Missouri Assessment Program tests. On the whole, only 42.7 percent were. The school also failed because not enough low-income students and special-education students met targets.

But out of all the grades and schools in the district, in communication arts, eighth-graders at the junior high showed the biggest improvement (11.2 percent more students scored as proficient or advanced than last year). In comparison, there are only two other instances where other grades and schools in the district increased the percent of students scoring as proficient or advanced in communication arts. In all other cases, percentages actually decreased.

Principal Roy Merideth attributes the growth to the implementation of two things: literature circles and writer's workshop. Literature circles group students based on reading interests, and writer's workshop provides a specific, organized process for writing.

Seventh-graders in the building did not fare as well on the test, something Merideth is investigating.

On the whole, the biggest increases in student achievement districtwide lay almost exclusively in math.

The story about the causes for the math increases, plus how each grade at each school fared in terms of growth, will be in Saturday's Southeast Missourian.

Want more?

If you missed today's coverage, click here for a story about which schools met targets and which face sanctions.

Here's an overview table showing how all Southeast Missouri districts fared (including rural districts). Here's one showing how subgroups of students at each school performed.

Finally, here's a link a reader sent me about how scores are calculated. It also includes a more detailed outline of consequences for schools not making adequate yearly progress.