The Washington Post (12/14, Cohen) says students in the District "scored an average of 62% on the nation's first standardized health test, results that were better than education officials had expected because D.C. schools have not had a long history of teaching subjects the test covered." Sandra Schlicker at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education told DC Council members that she was "pleasantly surprised" with the results. Leaders of organizations that "work on teen health in the District said at Thursday's hearing that the test results are a valuable evaluative resource. Scores on the reproductive health section of the test, where high school students answered an average of 75% of the questions correctly, might improve if schools devoted more class time to that subject, said Shana Bartley, a peer health and sexuality education program coordinator at the Young Women's Project."
The ABC News (12/13, Jennings) "Health" blog quotes Ayan Islam, communications specialist for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, as saying the results "will be very helpful in determining the improvements needed to be made for teacher professional development training and create challenging material that can further student's interest and knowledge in personal health. ... Fifth-graders seem to know a lot more when it comes to recognizing their own personal health. When it comes to general knowledge and physical education on alcohol, tobacco and drugs, they have a slight idea, but may not be exposed enough to give them an awareness to be prepared when they are exposed to those things."
Students Show Greater Proficiency In Health Than Math, Reading.The Washington Times (12/14, Howell) says the test results "exceeded the public school students' proficiency on in math and reading, at about 49 percent and 46 percent, respectively, in scores released in July. However, respondents to the health questions may have included students who did not take the traditional DC CAS in those core subjects." Adam Tenner of the Metro TeenAIDS organization praised the exam as "historic," adding: "While the results are concerning to Metro TeenAIDS, they demonstrate exactly how serious this epidemic is and which schools are most in need of improvement."
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