NH scores on national proficiency tests outpace those of all other states

Laconia School Superintendent Bob Champlin gave the School Board a quick overview of New Hampshire’s performance compared to that of the other 49 states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. According to Champlin, New Hampshire schools have consistently outperformed the schools in virtually all of the other 49 states on the math and reading components of the biennial nationally administered uniform proficiency tests.

Champlin likened the NAEP tests to the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) tests administered annually, stressing that the difference between the two lies in the NECAP’s lack uniformity with the similar tests administered annually in the states outside of New England. The NAEP tests, on the other hand, produce uniform academic proficiency results that can be compared from state to state.

While not all Laconia district fourth and eighth- grade students are given the NAEP tests (which is the case with the NECAP exams), all of the students in those grades in the schools selected at random to participate in the NAEP program do take the exams.

Over the years from 2003 to 2009 that the NAEP math proficiency tests have been administered here, the N.H. performance has consistently been approximately 10 points higher than the national average for the fourth and eighth-grade participants.

In the most recent (2009) round of NAEP testing, New Hampshire’s fourth-graders achieved scores that exceeded the national proficiency standard by two points. The eighth-grade group missed the national proficiency standard of 299 by seven points while it was outpacing the average for the rest of the country by 10 points.

In another report to the board, it was stated that more than 550 Laconia public school students have been taking part in Project Extra and the "Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO)” it has spawned over the 2009-2010 school year and the 2009 summer school.

According to Tina Green, the director of Project Extra who provided the School Board with a report on the Project Extra activities at the district’s three elementary schools, the Middle School, and High School, the after-school program has been an unqualified success. Perhaps the most notable sign of that success lies in the fact that the high school ELO programs are now student driven and operated.

Green described the activities that provide the Extended Learning Opportunities for the three educational levels in the district.

At the elementary level, the three schools — Pleasant Street, Elm Street and Woodland Heights — focus on weird science, fitness camps, karate, world geography and explorers. Math is the emphasis of what is called the maze craze. The response to cheer club has been huge, she said.

At the Middle School, dodge ball and the weight room have drawn a lot of interest. More than 40 students have been participating in dodge ball, and a number of parents have asked to participate in weight room activities with their kids. Tutoring and karate are also very popular.

Clubs seem to be the focus of Project Extra at LHS. There are clubs for chess, sewing, photography, engineering, and homeland security. A literary arts magazine, peer tutoring and open library are other Project Extra activities at the high school.

On the Extended Learning Opportunities front, one student has been doing a DNA project for extra biology credit. Other students have been volunteering their services to Lakes Region Public Access television and Nassau Broadcasting. Civics projects have involved students’ volunteering in the recent mayoral campaign. A woodworking student with advanced cabinet-making skills built cabinets for the Laconia Police Department. There have also been extending learning opportunities focused on English immersion and Japanese culture and language.

The Project Extra and ELO activities are a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Project in partnership with P.A.C.T. (Parents and Children Together). The NH Charitable Foundation and The Curran Foundation provided funding for the program.

Green did report that funding is secure through the end of 2011. She said she was concerned about the availability of outside funding for these programs in 2012 and beyond.