Fewer Lake Forest students are taking the SATs than in the past. That was one of the findings the board of education learned while reviewing the district’s balanced scorecard at a Sept. 11 meeting.

    After a population spike in 2006 that Board President Christopher Baker said led to a natural jump in the number of students taking the SATs, fewer students took the exam in 2008 than in any year in the 2000s. In 2008, 80 students took the SAT.

    Lake Forest High School Principal Betty Wyatt-Dix said one of the reasons the number of students taking the SATs has dropped is the SEED program, which does not require students to take the standardized test.

    Scores, however, did not change as dramatically as the number of students taking the test did.

    Average math SAT scores were at 468, 20 points higher than the previous year and close to prior years. Verbal scores dropped to 454, 14 points lower than the year before and the lowest since 2003.

Students encouraged to take honors, AP classes
    One of the high points of the discussion was the fact that there has been a “significant increase” in the number of African-Americans taking honors and AP classes, according to Wyatt-Dix.

    She said that the school is encouraging all students who might be on the cusp of honors to take AP classes, even if they do not earn credit from the exam.

    Superintendent Dr. Daniel Curry said the district has seen a decline in the success rate on AP tests, and perhaps they need to vet the students better before enrolling them. A pre-requisite, such as 10-grade DSTP scores could be used as a measure, for example, he said.

    While there has been a decline, Curry said AP classes are beneficial in preparing students for a collegiate level of work.

    “There is great value in taking an AP class, even if you don’t take an AP exam,” he said.

    One way to increase school scores would be to increase uninterrupted instructional time, Curry said, which led to a lengthy discussion on continuing education for teachers.

    Some teachers are happy to train during the summer, but others prefer to leave training for class time, which takes them out of the classroom and leaves teaching to a substitute.

    Curry suggested increasing the number of school development days on the calendar so teachers would not have to leave class for training. The board encouraged its legislative committee member, Ronda Swenson, to address this idea at the Sept. 24 meeting of the legislative committee.

In other news...
    Construction on Lake Forest South Elementary School is down to final touches, according to Curry, who said whiteboards are in, teachers are appreciating the audio system and the school had its first assembly Sept. 11.

    A ribbon cutting for the school will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. The public is welcome to attend. The school is located at 301 Dorman St., Harrington.

    Parent Cindy D’Agostino attended the meeting to discuss possible solutions to students’ long bus rides.

    With many of them along rural routes, some students spend more than an hour in each direction on the bus. Her son’s first day of school had him on the bus for 1 hour, 45 minutes each way, she said, and he has since cut that time by changing buses. He still rides at least an hour each way, though.

    Curry said there is no immediate solution, and that state groups would have to consider bigger solutions, such as setting policy that no student should have to ride longer than a certain time.

    “We can just tinker with what we do have,” he said.

    Transportation Supervisor William Morris said 44 of the district’s bus runs are in excess of an hour, and that other districts have runs in excess of 1:30 each way.

    This is not a new issue, he said, as the Department of Education looks at bus loads, not length of ride. At least five other districts he has discussed this with have similar issues and demographics to Lake Forest.