Smith pointed out that improvements in most areas increased by 4 to 5 percentile points. Lancaster School District students ranked among the bottom three in Valley school scores. Lancaster Superintendent Stephen Gocke said his district is going into a second year of a threeyear plan to increase test scores gradually. Gocke said reading and math scores are starting to improve, but he admitted there still is a lot of work to do in the fifth and sixth grades. Part of the problem, he said, is the mobility factor, but added district teachers and staff are working to overcome this.
Mobility involves students who move in and out of district during the school year.
We have seen some nice jumps, but not in every subject or grade area. We have seen overall progress. We think we are moving in the right direction. The Keppel Union School District reported scores in all grade levels below the 50th percentile. Repeated phone calls to Keppel Superintendent Joseph Cox went unanswered.