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When it’s time to take the ISTEP+, students in only one corner of the building are putting their pencils to the paper.
But year after year, third-graders at Cedarville Elementary School have some of the highest test scores in the state. Even this year, when educators say scores look low because of differences associated with a new ISTEP+ exam, Cedarville students shine.
Cedarville serves kindergarten through third-grade students, who then move on to Leo Elementary School. Third grade is the first year students are assessed by the state proficiency exam.
This year, Cedarville students ranked seventh in the state for their performance on the ISTEP+. In 2007, the school was ranked third and last year placed fourth.
There aren’t many students at the school not passing ISTEP+ this year. Ninety-seven percent of third-graders were at grade level on the English portion, and 96 percent were considered proficient in math.
“If we had something that we could just box and sell out there, I’m sure everybody would buy it,” Principal Brad Bakle said. “I wish I could tell you that there’s some magic out here.”
Bakle and Cedarville teachers say the only secret to their success is the amount of support they get from parents.
There are 50 parents who volunteer at the more than 600-student school, and teachers say their instruction is also reinforced at home.
“I think parents out here take a lot of ownership in their children’s education,” third-grade teacher Paul Niccum said.
The school is filled with children of people who live in Leo-Cedarville, a higher-income area of Allen County. There’s a stark difference between the backgrounds of Cedarville students and those who attend some of the other East Allen County Schools buildings.
Nine percent of Cedarville students receive a free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of poverty in schools, compared with 78 percent of students who attend Village Elementary, a school on the southeast side of Fort Wayne.
Bakle and the teachers understand they serve students with parents who often have more time and resources to devote to their children’s education. Many low-income parents are working more than one job and don’t have the freedom to volunteer at school or work with their children after school, Bakle said.
How much money a family has doesn’t guarantee success on a proficiency exam, Cedarville teachers said.
Third-grade teacher Bryan Kaylor said he used to teach at Prince Chapman Academy, the middle school into which Village Elementary students feeds, and the financial background of the parent didn’t matter. What mattered was how involved they were, he said.
“If the parents are involved in the child’s education, the kids are going to do better,” third-grade teacher Larry Linson said.
