Minnesota public school tenth-graders kept up a high passing rate on the state’s Basic Skills Test (BST) in written composition, according to results released by the state education department. More than nine-in-ten of this year’s sophomores passed the test on their first attempt. Student performance rates across the state of Minnesota are as follows. o Below Basic – nine percent. o Basic skills – 69 percent. o Competent – 18 percent. o Skillful – four percent. o Exceptionally skilled – less than one percent. Kimball Area High School students also did well on the test. Students prepared for the test by writing and scoring numerous sample compositions during their English 10 class this year. Sixty-eight Kimball tenth-graders completed the BST written composition test. Ninety-one percent (62) of those students earned a passing score of three or more on the test. District demographics for the tenth-grade class indicated as high as 31 percent of the student population were in at risk categories. Because groups of students are very different from year-to-year, test scores will be different. There will be fluctuations in scores. A district goal continues to be to strive for scores above the state average. Results of the writing BST are based on the overall quality of students’ compositions. The scoring criteria focus on the clarity of the central idea, a coherent focus, organization, support for ideas, spelling, grammar, punctuation and other language skills. Trained professionals evaluate all compositions. A passing paper is well-organized and may only have minor mechanical or spelling errors. Students who pass earn a basic, competent, skillful or exceptionally skillful mark on their essays. Students who took the test this year were prompted to “Think of [their] favorite place to play when [they] were younger. Describe this place and explain why it was [their] favorite. Include details so [their] reader will understand [their] choice.” This is the fifth year that tenth-grade students across the state of Minnesota have taken the BST in written composition. Passing this test as well as passing BSTs in reading and mathematics is a requirement for graduation. BST tests are a safety-net that ensure all public high school students have essential skills in reading, writing and mathematics. Students who do not pass on their first attempt have multiple opportunities to retake the tests. Results of the written composition test were mailed home to parents. Parents can also request a copy of their child’s essay by calling the high school office at 398-7700. For those students who did not pass the test, a summer re-testing opportunity will be offered on July 22. Later this year, letters will be mailed home to provide additional information about summer testing and scheduled tutoring sessions. Results for the reading and math basic skills tests will be released later this month. Student reports for those tests will be mailed home as soon as the district receives copies from the state. If you have any questions regarding testing, please contact Peggy Trimble at 398-7700 ext. 335.
