CUMBERLAND – Highlights of statewide standardized testing released Friday show Cumberland elementary school students posted big gains in reading following several years of intervention by the Dunn Hill Institute, and the new Reading Street curriculum.

Tests were administered last October to grades 3 to 8 and grade 11. Coming this spring from the state Department of Education will be whether the individual schools met the “adequate yearly progress” markers in all subsets, including special needs.

At the state level, approximately 73 percent of Rhode Island students achieved proficiency or higher in reading, up 2 percentage points from 2010, 56 percent in mathematics, up 1 percentage point, and 55 percent of students achieved proficiency or higher in writing.

In reading, Community School children broke 90 percent for the first time, while all elementary schools showed gained and further tightened gaps in achievement among the five schools.

B.F. Norton Elementary posted an averaged 73 percent proficiency, a 38-point gain since 2006.

Ashton averaged 80 percent, a 16-point gain over the six years.

Community averaged 93, a 6-point multi-year gain.

Garvin averaged 80 percent, including the 4th grade that hit 90 percent, a 24-point gain since 2006.

Cumberland Hill averaged 86 percent, an 11-point gain over six years.

Math scores in Cumberland continued to disappoint, especially on the high school level where only 31 percent achieved at least “proficient” status. A combination program using new assessment tools and intervention, already in play, is expected to nudge scores up as soon as the next round.

Supt. Philip Thornton told The Breeze he’s confident CHS can conquer math. He noted that the same students who turned in the low math scores also posted an average 82 percent proficiency in reading.

Look for a complete story in the Feb. 16 Valley Breeze.

– Marcia Green