North Kingstown Schools Remain Above State Average in Testing

Test scores for math and reading made slight gains in this year’s New England Common Assessment Program test as North Kingstown schools continue to stay in the top tier for scores in the state.

According to test results, North Kingstown students made significant progress in both reading and math – one of only eight districts in the state to receive the commendation.

Reading proficiency scores ranked at 86 percent and jumped by 3 points over last year’s results and 5 points since 2007. On the math side, scores remained at 72 percent proficiency from last year but have increased by 6 points since 2007. According to Superintendent Phil Auger, the math component of the NECAP test has always been an obstacle for Rhode Island students.

“Our alignment to this particular test is not that good and that’s a problem throughout the state,” said Auger.

North Kingstown High School’s four-year graduation rate jumped by 2 percent to 88 percent from last year, but is still 4 points lower than 2009’s whopping 92 percent graduation rate.

“Our kids are doing really well,” said Auger. “Our middle schools are knocking it out of the park lately.

The district’s two middle schools also received commendations with significant increases in both reading and math. Wickford Middle School’s reading scores jumped 6 percent (from 86 to 92 percent) while math made a 1 percent gain to 84 percent. Davisville Middle School’s reading scores jumped by 7 percent to 85 percent proficiency and math bumped up by 3 percent to 71 percent. In writing, the two middle schools together scored 18 points higher than the state average.

At the elementary school level, Stony Lane scored 24 points higher than the state average in writing while Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett fell 18 points below the state average.

Taken by students in grades 3 through 8 and high school juniors, the NECAP test was administered in October 2011. Starting in the 2014-2015 academic year, however, the state will switch over to the