District 99 Schools' Test Scores, Student Growth Improved From Last Year

The District 99 Board of Education had a meeting Oct. 3 in which members discussed district goals, student learning reports and the master facility plan for the district, which encompasses both Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South High Schools.

Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Gina Ziccardi reviewed student achievement data from the last school year and, according to a release from the district, ACT scores, student growth, participation in Advanced Placement participation in honors classes have all risen several percentage points.

Ziccardi said at the meeting it was important to note that test scores and grades are not the only factors that define student success, but that leadership and school involvement are also considered, among other things.

The ACT average for District 99 schools in 2016 is 23.0, up from 22.6 last year and ahead of both the state and national average of 20.8, according to the district.

Participation in both AP and honors courses is up to 48 percent of all students, an increase from last year’s 45.6 percent of the student population.

Student growth as a whole, which is measured by the district through test scores over time starting when students enter high school, grew to 37.4 percent from last year’s 36 percent.

Downers Grove South High School Associate Principal Georgia Hash and Downers Grove North High School Associate Principal Sara Courington noted at the meeting how important teachers at their schools have been in making these numbers grow.

Teachers have been encouraging students to push themselves and take more AP exams, the principals said, which nudged the number of AP tests taken in 2016 to more than 2,047, up from 2015’s 1,729.

“D99 is a great district and there are great things going on here, but we can’t settle with that,” District Superintendent Hank Thiele said at the Board of Education meeting. “We need to continually improve and get better and stretch ourselves. Nobody on this team is going to settle for status quo.”

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