Gordonville second-graders score above district average in national test

Four years after Jackson school officials eliminated a teaching position at Gordonville Attendance Center, second-graders combined in multigrade classes are performing above district averages on standardized tests.

Dwindling enrollment and a budget crunch caused the district in 2003 to group grades one to three in two classrooms.

Initial plans called for half of the second-grade class to work with first-graders, and the other half to work with third-graders. Parents worried those joined with the first-graders would lag behind their peers and those placed in the third-grade class would feel pressured.

Responding to those concerns, officials decided the second-grade class would spend the morning working on reading and math with the third-graders, and the afternoon studying social studies and science with the first-graders.

Teachers say the small school, which had an enrollment of 36 in 2006, has an environment in which students go to each other for help and collaboration is common, boosting achievement.

"I think it's been very positive. A lot of it has to do with that sense of community in that small school," said assistant superintendent Dr. Rita Fisher.

Initially, second-grade scores in reading and language dropped significantly but are now above district averages on the Terra Nova, a standardized test taken by Jackson students in kindergarten through second grade. Math increased 22 percentile points between 2003 and 2006.

Superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson warned it is hard to compare data because students and staff vary from year to year, and fluctuation in scores is common.

While the district average percentile score increased three percentile points, Gordonville's increased nine over the past four years.

Scores for first-grade and second-grade students before 2003 were requested three times but not provided by the school district.

Third-grade students, who were grouped with second-graders for part of the day, saw a fluctuation in scores as well. They take the state test known as MAP, or Missouri Assessment Program. The percentage of students classified as proficient in communication arts was 58.8, 50, 50, 61.5. 36.4 and 92.3 for each year from 2002 to 2007.

Because of an influx of first-graders this year, teacher Robin Harbison now has 10 second-graders and 10 third-graders in her class all day, and the school has a class made up of only first-graders.

On a given morning last week, students worked harmoniously and efficiently together on their morning work. Second-graders were called to a carpet at the front of the room to check their daily language work. Third-graders stayed at their desks to finish work designed for them.

Afterward students began their favorite part of the day, known as centers. Grouped together by ability, not grade level, students rotated through different learning stations.

"They will ask you questions, and they always learn from you," third-grader Kristen Robideau said, referring to her younger counterparts.

Second-grader John Swofford acknowledged he had a lot to learn. "They're smarter than we are. They know cursive that we don't," he said.

Math is the only subject Harbison said she has to teach separately, allowing one group to work independently on previous material while she teaches the other a new concept. All the other subjects she introduces together, and then modifies for the age level. For example, if the class is taking a language test, second-graders might be asked to identify nouns while the third-graders have to identify common and proper nouns.

"Teachers with only one grade say they don't have enough time. It is even more so with two grades," Harbison said. "I have to be very organized."

Principal intern Shauna Criddle acknowledged fitting everything in can be difficult, but said having the third-graders in the classroom allows the younger students to be exposed to material earlier. "It's good they know they can go to each other for help," she said.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123