By Barb Kromphardt

SPRING VALLEY — Hall High School Superintendent Mike Struna posed some interesting questions to his school board at Wednesday’s meeting.

“What the heck are we doing? Where in the heck are we going? Why the heck are we going there? And, are we there yet?” Struna said.

Struna asked — and answered — the questions as part of his regular monthly update on the district’s School Improvement status.

Hall hasn’t made adequate yearly progress (AYP) as defined by No Child Left Behind since 2006, a benchmark that requires an increasing number of juniors each year to meet or exceed state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Examination, and thus, has been identified for School Improvement. As part of this, Hall had to create a restructuring plan, and Struna provides regular updates.

On Wednesday, Struna said it was time to forget about making AYP. Few high schools made AYP last year, and as the number of students required to pass increases each year, fewer schools will reach the goal.

Instead, the main focus should be on academic growth, and Struna said they were mapping the progress of every student throughout their high school years.

“That’s a better indicator of whether we’re doing a good job educating students,” he said. “We have students who did not meet standards but made tremendous growth.”

Struna said if the district focuses on improving every student, more students will meet or exceed standards.

One of the district’s biggest challenges is dealing with the students who arrive and aren’t ready for high school. Students like that must show more improvement each year in order to succeed.

“It’s probably the hardest thing to do,” he said. “We’re getting students who’ve had nine years of education, and we have four years to make a difference.”

Struna said he had no criticism of Hall’s five feeder schools. Those schools also get some students who are more prepared for school than others.

In addition, elementary schools have a different test with different priorities for which they must prepare their students.

“If you look at their ISAT scores, the feeder schools are outstanding,” Struna said. “When they get to high school, it’s a whole different game.”

Struna said the state realizes there’s a disconnect between the knowledge required for the ISAT test and the PSAE test and is at work making the ISAT harder.

Struna added ACT data shows fewer than two in 10 eighth-graders are on target to be ready for college by the time they graduate from high school.

Struna then discussed how the district measures students’ progress. The district uses the Educational Planning and Assessment System, which includes the Explore test in Grades 8 and 9, the Plan test in Grade 10, and the ACT in Grade 11.

Struna had data on each class of students. Students entering Hall tend to be most prepared in English, and then becoming less strong in reading and math, with the weakest scores in science. Among the district’s current freshmen, 67 of 100 students entered high school on track to be ready for college in English. That number dropped to 52 in reading, 43 in math and only 11 in science.

Board President Todd Fanning asked why eighth-grade scores were improving, as only 47 percent of the district’s current seniors were on track in English as freshmen.

Last June, the Illinois State Board of Education adopted a revised set of learning standards called the Common Core State Standards, and Principal Tony Valente said the elementary schools have already started making some curriculum changes that are showing up in test scores.

“It’s a fair statement that that part has to be done, too, to make the job easier at the high school level,” Fanning said.

Struna agreed that each incoming class seems to be a little more prepared.

“If they came in better prepared than the previous class, and we move them four or five points, you’d think the next few years we’d see a bump up in ACT scores,” Struna said.