Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Keokuk Working To Improve Test Scores

Keokuk, IA – While students are getting used to their new classes in Keokuk, teachers and administrators will be looking at ways to improve test scores throughout the school district.

The Keokuk School District has two buildings on the state's schools in need of assistance list. Keokuk High School did not meet reading proficiency standards for the second year in a row while it was math scores for Keokuk Middle School.

The Middle School, the Alternative School, and Wells Carey Elementary are on a watch list for not meeting reading proficiency standards last year. The entire district is also on a watch list for overall reading scores.

Superintendent Lora Wolff says the district is implementing a new reading proficiency program at the middle school and the high school. "We have also encouraged students to read more because if you read more, your vocabulary builds, which makes you do better at reading," says Wolff.

Wolff says additional teachers are being hired at the elementary level to work directly with students on reading and math skills. She says the district will also use professional development sessions, during the first few days of school, to review the test results and discuss other ideas for improvement.

Several buildings improved their scores, last year, to the point where they have been removed from the state lists. They include Wells Carey Elementary for math scores and the Alternative School for math scores.

Other buildings are still one year of improved scores away from being removed. They include Keokuk High School for math scores and the district, as a whole, for math scores.

Wolff says the district's test scores, overall, have gone up over the last ten years.