GEORGETOWN — The Georgetown-Ridge Farm School Board heard reports from building principals Monday regarding the results of student’s state test scores from last spring.

Pine Crest Elementary School, Ridge Farm Elementary School and Mary Miller Junior High all made adequate yearly progress as set forth by the state, but Georgetown-Ridge Farm High School did not.

Monday’s test scores are the corrected or rescored version, compared to earlier scores that were released and contested widely across the state because of a wide disparity in figures, especially among the fourth and fifth grade scores. However, all scores at all schools were refigured.

The benchmark set by the state this year was for 62.5 percent of all students to meet or exceed state standards in order to make adequate yearly progress. Next year, that number jumps to 70 percent.

At the high school, 47.1 percent of students met or exceeded the standard in reading, with only 42.9 percent doing so in math. The school did make AYP on its graduation rate of 76.9 percent, but as a school failed to make AYP on the other counts. Therefore, the district on the whole did so as well.

GRHS Principal Steve Sliva said scores did increase from last year, but it just isn’t enough to make the goals.

“We are moving up, but not quite what the state wants us to make,” Sliva said. “I am pleased we moved up a little bit.”

In fact, on the ACT portion of the test, the student’s average went up from 18.8 in 2007 to 19.1 in 2008.

Sliva said it is frustrating from his standpoint because he feels the high school is making headway “slowly, but surely,” but it’s not enough, fast enough.

“They’re just giving us year to year,” Sliva said. “It takes time when you’re doing things.”

Sliva said staff changes and vacancies last year didn’t help scores, but new teachers this year are doing a great job, providing stability at the school and students are responding well.

However, board president Jack Morrison wondered if enough could be done to make up for the gap.

“We’re 15 points below … that’s a huge jump,” Morrison said.

This marks the second year GRHS has not made AYP and they were placed on the academic early warning list. The district will be expected to meet the accelerated goal this spring 2009 of 70 percent of students meeting or exceeding the standard.

Sliva said extra funds are needed for things like an accelerated reading program and to hire more teachers.

“Money doesn’t solve every problem, but it would go a long way to solving the problems in this district,” Superintendent Kevin Tate said.

At MMJH, math scores were strong with 84.5 percent of students meeting or exceeding the standard. Principal Lisa Gocken said about five years ago math was low district-wide, so a lot of profes-sional development was targeted towards that area and it has paid off.

Reading scores at the junior high also were good, with 72.4 percent of students meeting or exceeding the standard.

The scores of Ridge Farm Elementary School students were the strongest contested and Principal Andy Weathers said the rescoring looks on track to him compared to trending of the same student’s in the past.

In math, 81.9 percent of students met the goal, while 67.8 percent did so in reading.

At Pine Crest Elementary School, math scores came in with 86.6 percent of third-graders meeting or exceeding the standards. In reading, 74.2 percent of those same students met the goal.

At the high school juniors were tested using the Prairie State Achievement Exam, while the other buildings used the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

In other business, board members:

-- Approved to pay the annual commercial and auto insurance premium that is with Country Companies and costs around $60,000. The total went up around $2,500 from last year.

Tate said the price is very reasonable compared to what they were paying a few years ago, which was upwards of $85,000 yearly. He said the increase is partly due to that they upgraded to newer buses.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Georgetown-Ridge Farm School Board will conduct a budget hearing at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 29 at the superintendent’s office followed by the regular board meeting at 7 p.m.