AIMS - schools focus on improving test scores

By Patti Jares, Staff Writer

This article is the first in a five-part series.

What is the measure of a child? According to the State of Arizona, the scholastic determination is Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards - the AIMS test - a mandatory assessment in reading, writing and math that must be passed by every student statewide in order to graduate from high school.

Recently, the Wickenburg School District took a comprehensive look at the district’s 2008 AIMS results - the problems and possible solutions.

Hassayampa Elementary School Principal Mike Anderson is pleased with his 2008 scores overall. With the exception of a dip in third grade scores, fourth and fifth grade showed a marked improvement over last year, with most scores higher than state averages and fifth-grade math scores some of the highest in the state.

“I think we’ve done well,” said Anderson.

There are four possible performance ranges for the AIMS test: “falls far below standard” (fail - score of 1), “approaches the standard” (fail - score of 2), “meets the standard” (pass - score of 3) and “exceeds the standards” (pass - score of 4).

At Hassayampa, like every school in the state, students begin in kindergarten to prepare for the questions on the AIMS test; the questions are fundamental in that age group, but lesson plans are mandated by the government and lay a foundation of preparation for the upcoming test.

In addition, every second and ninth grader must take the TerraNova test - which compares the child nationwide. The third grade AIMS test is referred to as the “DAP,” or dual-purpose test because TerraNova questions are included.

Students who “meet the standard” and “exceed the standard” are grouped together and compared to students statewide. For example, 86 percent of Hassayampa fifth-grade math students met or exceeded the state standard. That result is 16 percent higher than the state average (70 percent) for fifth-grade students who met or exceeded standards in math.

“We’ve had a really good start,” said Anderson. “I attribute this to good teachers working hard - taking each child and looking at their needs, and countless hours of planning. The staff is the strength of our school.”

In elementary and middle school, students who fail the test continue to be passed to the next grade, but in the tenth grade students take the test to determine if they will graduate high school. A student may take the test five times throughout his or her junior and senior years in order to pass the test.

The State of Arizona rates a school by its AIMS scores - “failing to meet standards,” “underperforming,” “performing,” “performing-plus” and “excelling.”

The AIMS test continues to be a hotbed of controversy in Arizona.

According to the Goldwater Institute, an Arizona-based organization involved in education reform, the state has lowered the passing bar every year since 1999 because of high failure rates. Because of the controversy, the Arizona legislature added a last-minute addition to the state budget earlier in the summer to create a task force that would consider the future of the AIMS test.

For an administrator, the test can be frustrating.

“It’s different every year,” said Anderson, “and as a principal that can be a real challenge because there are so many changes.”

With so many dynamics playing a role in a child’s ability to take the test, the results can be inaccurate.

Hispanic children who cannot speak English are expected to take the AIMS test, and their score is factored in to the school’s averages, as are children with special educational needs.

“Keeping a stable student population and staff retention is significant, too,” said Anderson. “And there are variables that can hurt a one-time test. A student could be sick, or might have had a fight with their mother or father, or maybe traumatized - it would be nicer if there was a measure that looked at kids more often.

“We as educators have a hard time believing that a one-time test can measure a child,” added Anderson. “We’d hope that life was more than one test.”

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