New Data Shows Test Scores At Tulsa Public Schools Lagging

By Ashli Sims, The News On 6

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- New test scores reveal widespread failure at several Tulsa schools.

The News On 6 reported on August 9, 2010, the number of Tulsa Public Schools on the federal needs improvement list doubled this year.

8/9/2010 Related Story: Tulsa Public Schools: Number Of Sites On 'Needs Improvement List' Could Double

School bells are ringing in the new year and Tulsa Public Schools is getting a wake up call. New testing data shows the district has a lot of work to do this year.

TPS eighth graders lost a lot of ground last year. In the 2008-2009 school year, three out of four of them passed their state math and reading tests. In the 2009-2010 school year, only 58 percent passed in math and only 62 percent passed reading.

A closer look at the test scores reveal more than half of the students at Cleveland Middle School are failing both math and reading. And Cleveland isn't alone. Hamilton, Madison, Nimitz and Gilcrease are all in the same boat.

Gilcrease is in its fifth year on the federal needs improvement list. It's receiving millions of federal dollars to give students more time to learn. Officials hope the longer school day will lead to better test scores.

"Not reading on grade level that's probably the biggest problem that Gilcrease faces," said Phyllis Lovett, Principal at Gilcrease Middle School. "The problems we have at Gilcrease is not just a Gilcrease problem."

Lovett says it's a problem that begins with the elementary schools.

Four elementary schools, Academy Central, Alcott, Anderson and Houston, also have more than half of their third through fifth grade students failing both math and reading.