Tinian, Rota schools, GTC named top 3 performing schools

Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan reported to the Board of Education yesterday that results of the battery test have been released and indicated progressive gains in both elementary and secondary levels.

Sablan disclosed that Tinian Junior and Senior High School remains at the top of the rankings, with the school maintaining a high 51 percentile mark for 11th grade and 49 percentile rank for 9th grade.

The Tinian school’s score for 9th grade last year was 50 percentile. Though the new result shows a one-point decrease, Sablan said the school’s mark remains consistently high at that grade level.

Also a top performer is the Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Junior and Senior High School with a 47 percentile ranking for 8th graders.

At the elementary level, Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School’s record remains “very high” in the battery test. Sablan did not elaborate on the details, saying a comprehensive SAT 10 report and analysis will soon be completed by associate commissioner for instruction services Jackie Quitugua.

SAT 10 is a norm reference test that measures the students’ learning in all areas, including core content subjects of English, math, science, social studies, and reading. This school year, the national percentile target is 50 percentile.

For the elementary level, tests are done among third, fifth, and sixth graders while eight graders are tested for middle school. For high school, the SAT-10 is conducted in 9th and 11th grades.

In school year 2010-2011, GTC was named the top among elementary schools after it ranked first in three grade levels: 50 percentile for third grade; 68 percentile for fifth grade; and 72 percentile for sixth grade.

Sablan also disclosed that other schools such as San Vicente Elementary remain highly ranked, while significant improvements were noted in some schools such as Tanapag elementary and San Antonio elementary schools.

In a separate interview yesterday, Sablan said she is very pleased with the SAT 10 result and is now awaiting the completion of a comprehensive report to see each and every detail of the test results.

She disclosed that public schools were only at 20 percentile ranking a few years back and she is elated to see the continuous gains in student achievement, which is now at 47 percentile overall.

PSS conducts two tests every end of the school year: the SAT 10 and Standard Based Assessment test, which is a criterion reference test that measures students’ knowledge in terms of PSS benchmarks and standards. SBA results, she said, have not been released yet.

Sablan said that the Public School Sysytem will continue to recognize the hard work of performing schools. According to her, this recent success is a reflection of high quality teaching, effective school leadership, greater parental involvement, and the instructional goals set by the board for PSS.

She cited the positive result gained by PSS and its employees, from the rigorous trainings it conducted and teaching methodologies and tools it offers, to effective research-based instructional strategies and the system’s initiatives such as the one-laptop-per-child project.

By Moneth Deposa
Reporter