(Mail Tribune illustration)

Most Jackson County high schools lagged behind the state average in the percentage of students who met standards last school year on tests in four core subject areas.

The federal government has set a 2014 deadline for schools across the nation to demonstrate that 100 percent of students are proficient in English and math on state assessments.

The test results in math and reading are used, along with attendance and graduation rates, to calculate whether schools meet federal benchmarks each year, also called adequate yearly progress. The 2005-06 AYP report was released last week.

The test results released today also help educators identify areas where they need to improve instruction.

Following a pattern across the state and nation, elementary and middle schools in Jackson County are much closer to the goal than high schools.

"Third-graders are much easier to motivate," said Don Alexander, superintendent of the Prospect School District. "By the time students get to high school, they have a lot of hoops to jump through, and there is not a lot of motivation to do well on the tests."

Statewide, progress was made in all grades and subjects tested except 10th-grade math and reading, which dropped by 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Reading and math skills were tested for the first time in the fourth, sixth and seventh grades.

Butte Falls High School and

Butte Falls High School and Prospect School showed sharp drops in the percentages of 10th-graders meeting standards in math, science and reading, while 10th-grade writing remained relatively strong at Butte Falls and improved markedly in Prospect.

The schools' 10th-grade classes typically number 12-20 students.

"A small sample can be misleading," Alexander said.

Despite the significant backslides in the 10th grade, Butte Falls High School, which includes grades 7-12, and Prospect School, which has grades K-12, were able to make AYP this year as a result of rolling in the scores from other grades and using the state's margin-of-error formula.

Ashland and Rogue River high schools also met AYP.

In 10th-grade math, seven out of 12 Jackson County high schools regressed in the number of students meeting standards.

County school district officials blamed the low passage rate in part on the prematurity of the test when 10th-graders have not yet had a chance to learn the material, which covers concepts of algebra, geometry, statistics and probability.

"Many students have not been exposed to this math content when they take the state assessment in the 10th grade," Susan Castillo, superintendent of the Oregon Department of Education, said in a statement Wednesday.

ODE and the State Board of Education are considering whether to move the 10th grade assessment to the 11th grade, when many more students take those courses.

The percentage of students meeting 10th-grade math standards dropped at Butte Falls, Crater, Medford Opportunity, North Medford, South Medford, Phoenix and Prospect high schools, which were all below the state average of 45 percent.

North and South Medford high schools showed improvement in every subject except for math and in most cases, exceeded the state average.

Medford district officials plan to adopt new math curricula next year. The existing math curriculum covers less than 70 percent of the state's standards, said Todd Bloomquist, curriculum director for the Medford School District.

The district's goal is to adopt a curriculum better aligned with the state standards and more relevant to students, he said.

"Math tends to be an out-of-context learning experience," he said. "We're going to put an emphasis on good quality materials and look at how math applies to everyday life."

Butte Falls High and Prospect High had the most dramatic declines in math, from 40 percent to 27.3 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.

Ashland High, Eagle Point High, Armadillo Technical Academy in Phoenix and Rogue River High made progress in math. Rogue River achieved the most gains in math, from 30 percent to 47.9 percent.

The Rogue River School District adopted a new math curriculum last November that is more closely aligned with state standards, said David Orr, principal of Rogue River High.

However, Eagle Point High and Armadillo Technical Academy remained below the state average.

At Eagle Point Alternative High School, 14.3 percent of 10th-graders met standards in math. Percentages were not reported for the alternative school in 2005 because there were not enough students.

In 10th-grade science, Butte Falls, Crater, Eagle Point, Medford Opportunity, North Medford, Armadillo Technical Academy, and Prospect high schools trailed behind the state average of 62 percent.

Butte Falls and Prospect high schools sustained the most losses in science, from 71.4 percent to 56.5 percent and from 60 percent to 31.6 percent, respectively.

Eagle Point, Medford Opportunity, North Medford and Armadillo Technical Academy saw some improvement in science.

Ashland, South Medford, Phoenix and Rogue River high schools exceeded the state average in science with 67.3 percent, 65.1 percent and 74.5 percent, in that order.

In 10th-grade reading, the percentage of students meeting standards was below the state average of 55 percent at Butte Falls, Crater, Eagle Point, Eagle Point Alternative, Medford Opportunity, Armadillo Technical Academy, Phoenix and Prospect high schools.

The number of 10th-graders meeting standards in reading decreased from last year at Crater, Butte Falls, Eagle Point, Phoenix and Prospect high schools.

At Butte Falls High, the percentage of students meeting standards in reading plummeted from 75 percent to 36.4 percent, yet in writing, the high school exceeded the state average with about 68.2 percent meeting standards, about the same level as the previous year.

The same trend was true in Prospect, where the number of 10th-graders meeting standards in reading fell from 46.7 percent to 31.6 percent and increased in writing from 26.7 percent to 42.9 percent.

Ashland, North Medford, South Medford and Rogue River high schools exceeded the state average in reading.

In 10th-grade writing, Ashland, Butte Falls, North Medford, South Medford, Armadillo Technical Academy and Phoenix High surpassed the state average of 55 percent.

Crater, Eagle Point, Medford Opportunity, Prospect and Rogue River high schools were below the state average in writing.

However, Rogue River High was the only high school that had a marked decrease in the percentage of 10th-graders meeting standards in writing, going from 60 percent to 50 percent. Butte Falls declined slightly, from 69.2 percent to 68.2 percent.

"Maybe we focused too much on reading, science and math and didn't do as well in writing," said Orr, Rogue River principal. "I guess it's time to roll up our sleeves and go to work again."

Reach reporter Paris Achen by calling 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.