FARMINGTON – According to the raw numbers, standardized tests show SAD 9 students are in the right academic performance ballpark, give or take a few points.

Eleventh-graders at Mount Blue High School, eighth-graders at Mount Blue Middle School and fourth-graders throughout the nine-town district were evaluated by the Maine Educational Assessments last December in language arts-reading, language arts-writing and health education.

Meanwhile, third-, fifth- and seventh-graders throughout the district were evaluated by the Terra Nova tests in reading, language, mathematics, science and social studies in March.

Assistant Superintendent Paul Knowles, who presented the data to school board members on Tuesday night, said for the most part, the test results are satisfying.

“We all want to be above state average,” he said. “We work towards that. When you put the whole package together, I’d say we are satisfied. There is always room for improvement.”

On the Terra Nova’s, SAD 9 third-graders were slightly above national average results in reading, science and social studies, and just below average results in mathematics and language.

Sixteen percent of the students were considered proficient in reading and science, seven percent in language, three percent in math and 13 percent in social studies. The remainer of the students were deemed to have partial proficiency.

In the fifth-grade, excellent testing results were turned in. The 201 students evaluated showed above average results in every subject and high levels of proficiency. Among the class’s biggest strengths were reading, with 50 percent showing proficiency compared to the national average of 35 percent, and language with 46 percent of SAD 9 students proving proficiency, compared to a 30 percent average nationwide.

Seventh-graders also showed above average results in reading and language proficiency, but lagged 8 percent behind the national average for mathematics and science proficiency. Social studies results between the district and the national average were comparable.

MEA results also revealed a mixed bag. Fourth-graders were slightly below state average in reading and health education, but in writing, 29 percent of the students did not meet requirements, compared to a 15 percent state average.

In eighth-grade, students were just under the state average in reading, writing and health education, while at the high school level, 11th-graders performed slightly better than state average.

The test results provide just a “snapshot,” Knowles said, of the entire academic picture and board members made it clear they realized that, noting that some students don’t test well.

The board was worried that the district was placing too much emphasis on standardized tests and their results, but Knowles said testing is government regulated. “These are the rules of the game we have to play,” he said.

One considerable concern raised by board member Jo Josephson of Temple, was a gender difference. Over the years, the results showed female success rates improving, while male results declined.

Such data can help the district “massage” areas of concern, Knowles said, but don’t expect any wholesale changes. The tests are simply a tool, but not the only rubric teachers and administrators use to gauge students.

Results from the MEA’s tests for fourth-, eighth- and 11th-graders taken in March in the subjects of science, social studies and math will be available this September.

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