Albert Lea has wonderful schools. As parents, teachers, business leaders, and community members we have much to celebrate in our schools. Our concerts, clubs, and course offerings provide students with many ways to achieve excellence. Every year our graduates earn scholarships, awards,

and admission to the colleges of their choice. Whatever their career path, many of our graduates excel in their professions. Some stay close to Albert Lea.

Some move far away and some choose to return to Albert Lea to live, work, and raise their families. Part of that choice is because of our excellent community schools. This picture is as true today as it has been historically, despite the recent concerns over test scores.

Tests. The word alone causes concern among many people, whether it’s a driving test, a doctors test, or classroom semester test. Tests are used to collect information. Is someone a &uot;good enough&uot; driver to have a license? What is the cholesterol level and what can be done to lower it? How much does a student know and what needs to be taught again to increase achievement?

It is that last perspective, the teacher’s perspective, which has always influenced testing in Albert Lea schools. Teachers give tests to identify what students have learned and to identify what needs to be taught next. Tests are assessments for grading purposes. Tests can also be diagnostic tools to learn how much students know compared to what they need to know and therefore to influence instruction.

Certainly that’s how Albert Lea has approached the many statewide tests that have come into being since 1996 when the first Minnesota Basic Skills Test was given to eighth graders. Those first results were a shock to many English and math teachers who assumed Albert Lea’s scores would be above state averages. They weren’t. But teachers used that score information to make changes in what they taught and when they taught it and how they checked to see to what extent ALL students were learning what was taught. &uot;Average scores&uot; have increased statewide over time. The same is true in Albert Lea.

When the Minnesota Comprehen-sive Assessments were added for statewide testing in reading, math, and writing at grades 3 and 5, teachers followed the same respectful approach. Their 1998 results became the baseline data on which to measure increased achievement. Grade level, building, and teacher action plans focused on increasing student achievement, especially in reading, math, and writing. From 1998-2001 that plan met with success. The increase in scores and averages varied from year to year, but in general we were increasing student achievement toward the state’s target goal or even surpassing it.

We continue that process today. Certainly because much more emphasis recently has been placed on just the &uot;average district score&uot; for all students collectively, teachers and administrators, parents and students will have to review how we talk about and prepare for the test. We will continue to analyze test results to see where we might best make gains that would increase our students’ &uot;average scores.&uot;

We know from the state reports some demographic information that may help us identify what or how to help more students achieve higher scores. For instance, we know we have more students who qualify for free or reduced lunches than the state average. We know we have more students with individual education plans than the state average. We have more students learning English as a second language than the state average. We know we have about as many students who move around the district as the state average. We know that we spend less per pupil to educate all students than the state average. We want to help ALL students increase their scores.

While the schools are focusing on what and how they can teach the curriculum to help students learn and earn increasingly higher scores, students and families and indeed the whole community also have to work toward increased achievement. We need to remain united in our beliefs that reading and math are very important and doing well on these tests is important. We need to stress the importance of regular attendance to learn.

Educating the whole child for the future is at the core of our mission. Albert Lea Area Schools seek to equip students &uot;to think, to learn, and to achieve.&uot; State tests are one measure of student achievement. We are eager to work on that aspect of our educational program as well as all the others from all-day kindergarten to advanced placement calculus. We welcome suggestions and help from parents and community members toward that goal.

Our District Curriculum Committee meets monthly to help in that goal. Membership recruitment is ongoing.

Adults, or students in grades 9-12, may

apply for membership. Call 379-4804 for an application or more information.

Education is and should be important to our students and families and our whole community. It always has been and, we hope, always will be. Students have always been able to learn and succeed here. As a district we will focus our work on increasing student achievement in reading, math, and writing as measured by statewide tests, but we will not lose sight of educating the whole student, be that in the arts, in athletics, in technical fields, etc. Success for students is success for us all.

Judy Knudtson is director of curriculum and development for School District 241.