(April 4, 2000) -- Although Clark Magnet High School’s SAT-9 scores fared better than those of the other high schools in the district, their reading score was lowest, thus, making teachers try to improve these scores by encouraging reading.

In comparison to the other high schools of the Glendale Unified School District, Clark did extremely well. Clark was the high school with the top SAT-9 score of the GUSD, beating Crescenta Valley by twelve points, Glendale High by 186 points and Hoover by 165 points. Clark scored very highly on every subject with math being the highest. The subject that received the lowest score, however, was reading comprehension.

Clark’s reading comprehension score was 60 for the freshmen and 50 for the sophomores. Cresenta Valley received 50 for the freshmen and 49 for the sophomores. Glendale High’s score was 33 for the freshmen and 34 for the sophomores. Finally, Hoover received 34 for the freshmen and 32 for the sophomores.

The district average for the GUSD is 35 for the freshmen and 32 for the sophomores, while the state average is 34 for the freshmen and 32 for the sophomores. So all of the GUSD schools are above average in comparison to the state and district average.

Assistant principal Joan Shoff says that that while the staff is pleased with the scores, they also recognize reading as an area for improvement.

Shoff stated that she and the rest of Clark’s staff plan to boost the reading level by promoting more reading in classes, and to have the teachers encourage students with no homework to read during tutorial. She says that the English teachers are working on this challenge.  Sophomore English teacher Jennifer Diaz has included time in her classes for her students to spend time free reading. She would like to see the students’ reading comprehension improved and their reading content area too.

Clark teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a staff development day devoted to improving students’ reading comprehension.  In addition, many Clark teachers attended a workshop earlier this year that addressed school improvement strategies.  “During the time we worked, the staff looked at the test scores and developed strategies to improve,” said Shoff.

Shoff also pointed out that it is very difficult to look at trends and statistics for Clark, since the school has only been open for one year. She commented that they don’t know if the results of the SAT-9 last year is a trend forming or a one-time experience. The staff and teachers would need to continue to look at SAT-9 scores over a period of many years to determine if reading comprehension will be Clark’s lowest subject on the SAT-9.