WHS students outscore the nation on practice test

Something very right is going on academically at Weiser High School, evidenced by last fall’s practice SAT test where Weiser students outscored everyone, everywhere in math, reading, and writing.

 Presenting his monthly administrator’s report during the Jan. 13 regular Board of Trustees meeting, WHS Principal Drew Dickerson said 91 of Weiser’s sophomores and juniors had participated in the fall PSAT test.

 “The test serves as a preparatory assessment for the SAT,” Dickerson said. “Strong performances on this in a student’s junior year can significantly increase their chances of getting some substantial financial aid for college.”

 Dickerson said one of the WHS juniors had come within two points of qualifying for the National Merit semi-final designation that is awarded nationwide.

 Projecting the comparative test results on the whiteboard in the trustees meeting room, Dickerson started with test takers’ math scores.

 “On this you can see the high school, and you can see where we scored on our math compared to the state public schools, all schools, and across the nation,” Dickerson said. “You can see we scored a 483 on it.”

 That was an average of 483 out of a possible 760 for Weiser’s 91 students. The state’s public school average score from a total of 19,885 students taking the test was 461, with all schools in the state averaging 464 on the math test. The average score nationally was 465, and globally, 466.

 In reading and writing, WHS’s students scored 510 out of another 760 total possible, with the state’s public schools earning 483, all of Idaho’s schools 486, and the national and global scores coming in at 484 and 485, respectively.

 “You can see the overall score (994) our students did on the test,” Dickerson said. “They did a really nice job, and this is a pretty neat thing for the high school. This aligns really well with our (academic achievement) goals.”

 During the meeting, the board approved Dickerson’s recommendation to hire Jim O’Dell as a high school science teacher. Under an emergency hire declaration, Shelley Graham will teach secondary English through the  end of the semester.