Preliminary results from assessments taken by Idaho students this spring show encouraging increases in students’ proficiency in English and math through the Idaho Standards Achievement Test. 
The ISAT is administered to all public school students in grades 3-through-8 and 10, gauging proficiency in English Language Arts/ Literacy and Mathematics.
The early numbers in math show the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced increased in six of the seven grades compared to a year ago, with grade-level gains ranging from 1 percent to 4 percent, while the percentage held steady for fifth graders. The overall proficiency for the state was 43.3 percent, up from just under 42 percent the year prior.
The English results saw five of seven grade levels improve between 1 and 3 percent for those scoring proficient or advanced, with percentages the same for seventh and 10th grades. Idaho’s overall English proficiency was 53.7 percent, up by more than 1.5 percentage points.
Meanwhile, state educators noted a dip in 11th graders’ performance on the SAT college entrance exam. Nearly 20,000 Gem State juniors took the SAT in April, scoring an average of 503 in evidence-based reading and writing, with 58 percent reaching the SAT’s college-readiness benchmark of 480. That’s down from 506 and 60 percent last year.
Also, juniors scored an average of 486 in mathematics, with 33 percent reaching the SAT’s college-readiness benchmark of 530, down from 492 and 34 percent.
Education leaders say why an obvious reason for the drop isn’t immediately known, Idaho is not alone in this year’s SAT score dip, noting that other states administering the College Board test statewide saw similar trends. (ISDE)
