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Butler District 53 boasts high ISAT scores
Updated: November 28, 2011 9:00AM
Butler District 53 posted its best test scores ever on the 2011 Illinois Standards Achievement Test.
Nearly 99 percent of students in the district met or exceeded state standards, above the district’s previous best of 98.1 percent set last year.
“That’s our highest ever in the school district’s history,” Superintendent Sandra Martin said. “We really strive to increase the number of students exceeding state standards every year. That’s been our personal goal.”
Highlights include 96 percent of Brook Forest third graders exceeding state standards in math, well over the state average of 44 percent in that same category.
Eighth grade math saw 73 percent of students exceeding standards, while the state average is only 32 percent.
No fewer than 48 percent of district students at any grade level exceeded state standards in reading, while nearly 100 percent of the district meets or exceeds state reading standards.
Ninety-nine percent of seventh graders and 98 percent of fourth graders met or exceeded state standards in science.
Overall, the district’s total ISAT scores have held strong since their low point of 77 percent meeting or exceeding state standards in 2001. Since 2006, the total number of children meeting or exceeding state standards in the district has not dipped below 96.6 percent.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, at least 85 percent of students taking the ISAT in 2011 had to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math.
“We’re very fortunate with wonderful children from great homes and families,” Martin said. “We have a very strong curriculum and great leaders in our buildings. All of those things with our reading specialists and special education teachers really let each child maximize his or her potential.”
While the news of high test scores is nothing new to the district, Martin said the district will strive to maintain its high standards.
“We try not to measure our overall progress on this one assessment,” Martin said. “We hope we can maintain these very high test scores. We do see variance from year to year and we’ll work very hard to keep these scores high.”
