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Steamboat Springs — Results released Tuesday show South Routt students struggled with Colorado Student Assessment Program tests this year.

In the CSAP writing test, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced fell behind state averages in six of the eight grades tested.

Scott Mader, new superintendent of the South Routt School District, said although some of the scores are a disappointment, the district was pleased that there were advances made in the math scores.

The district's students beat state averages in all but two grades tested in math. But compared to 2007 CSAP scores, all but two grades saw small decreases in math performance this year.

Grades six and 10 were hit the hardest in the tests and were the only grades to score below state averages on all three tests administered to them. Only 32 percent of sophomores scored proficient or advanced in writing, and 21 percent of the class scored in those categories for math this year. In 2007, 50 percent of those same students scored in the top two math categories.

Mader said he and other district officials plan to use this year's data to help improve student performance next year.

"If you use the test data correctly and drill down into it, you can help kids," he said. "Our professional learning communities will be looking at this data in depth."

One highlight of the data, released Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Education, was South Routt's improvement in high school math in the 2007 scores. Ninth-graders scored above the state's average percentage of students proficient or advanced, and though the 10th grade fell below state averages, the school still landed in the top quarter of Colorado schools when ranked by year-on-year growth.

"We worked hard to have some K-12 alignment so we're familiar with what kids had coming in, and we're starting to see how that's a benefit," said Raylene Olinger, dean of students at Soroco Middle and High School. "But it takes a while to show up. It's only going to get better and better."

Olinger said the scores, and especially the growth students show year to year, can be a useful tool for keeping tabs on achievement, but it is not the only or most important test the district uses.

"It's one part of the puzzle and we try to look at all sorts of data as we look at student achievement," Olinger said.

The combination of increases and decreases in student scores in the South Routt School District mirrored statewide results, where scores "reveal a mixed picture," according to the state education department.

- To reach Zach Fridell, call 871-4208

or e-mail zfridell@steamboatpilot.com