Education
Thinkstock
loading...

2015 Proficiency Assessment for Wyoming Students (PAWS) test results released by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) Thursday show Wyoming students aren't making the grade.

PAWS scores declined across most grade levels and content areas compared to 2014.

School districts have had a year to adjust to a higher standards that were set in reading and math, but Brent Young, Chief Policy Officer for the WDE, says a year isn't enough.

"You're putting in front of Wyoming's classroom teachers a brand new curriculum map based on new standards. Along with that maybe you're trying to implement some new staff development and you're looking at changing past practices. So is a year enough? I would say no," said Young "We're going to need to see more significant improvement in a lot of those areas that support educators."

Superintendent Jillian Balow says a statewide system of support will be key in bringing scores up.

"We've noticed over the last number of years that the state system of support has largely been delivered from the top down, in other words the state is saying this is how we will support school districts, and we're really creating a paradigm shift with the state system of support to say that 48 school districts in Wyoming want to be the very best," said Balow. "So our question to them is what tools do you need to be the very best? And let us help provide that technical assistance, that expertise and those tools to use so that you can reach your levels of improvement that you identify and that also reach this new bar."

More From K2 Radio