BIDDEFORD — A state report has noted marked progress between 2006-09 in three of the four Biddeford schools in which state standardized testing takes place annually.

“This is great news for Biddeford, as far as I’m concerned,” said Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Porter when presenting the results of the review by the Maine Department of Education to the School Committee last week.

The state review measured both achievement and progress for all but 70 of Maine’s public schools, in the three years between 2006-09. The information was released by the Department of Education on March 30.

In achievement proficiency, Biddeford Intermediate school scored highest with 58 percent. Biddeford Primary School measured 55 percent, Biddeford Middle School measured 53 percent and Biddeford High School measured 35 percent.

Proficiency is defined as meeting or exceeding state standards. The percentages were based on achievement data that was measured by calculating the percentage of proficiency of all students at all grade levels tested at a school in reading and math. The state then averaged the percentages together.

The achievement proficiency was not the notable data, said Porter, “the interesting information is the progress data.”

This data measured the school’s rate of proficiency from one year to the next in the same three-year period.

For instance, at Biddeford Intermediate School, the proficiency rate was 54 percent in 2006-07, it was 57 percent the following year and 64 percent the year after that.

That’s a 10 percent progress rate for the three-year period.

Biddeford Primary School’s progress rate rose more than 9 percent, while Biddeford Middle School had a progress rate of almost 7 percent.

Only Biddeford High School saw no increase in progress between 2006-09. Its progress rate was minus 3 percent.

“I’m absolutely not satisfied,” said BHS Principal Britton Wolfe, in a telephone interview today. In recent years, he said, “we’ve done a number of things to try to increase student progress.”

In the past two years, the school has added a word of the day and problem of the day in classes. Administrators and curriculum staff have also begun to review the curriculum to align it with what’s being tested in the SATs, the standardized test which the state uses to measure proficiency at Maine high schools.

Most of the lack of proficiency lies with students taking 200 level courses, said Britton, which he said about 40 percent of students take for at least some of their classes.

While school faculty and staff are working on increasing the standards and expectations for all students, Wolfe said there is a special focus on increasing the level of rigor for students in 200 level classes.

“Increasing learning standards is a system-wide effort,” said Wolfe.

He noted that the progress in the lower grades will eventually benefit the high school when the younger students go to BHS.

“We’re hoping that the things we’ve done in preparing kids for the SATs will yield benefits,” he said.

Juniors will next be tested on the SATs two weeks from Saturday, said Wolfe.

“Overall, our district is going up, which is good news,” said Porter. “We have some very dedicated people in this district who have really immersed themselves in a lot of the current practices in education over the past few years.

“Because of that very hard and very dedicated work, in a school system with 54 percent free and reduced lunch ”¦ this district continues to make progress.”

Porter noted that many schools in the state are not making growth, but Biddeford is at the top of the list of school districts making progress.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.