The Warren County R-III School District is celebrating the recently unveiled results from the 2015-16 state assessment tests, taken at the conclusion of last school year.Scores from the Missouri Assessment Program and End of Course exams revealed continued progress, especially in the area of English language arts (ELA).When broken down by grade and subject, R-III surpassed the state average in nine different areas. In 2015, the district was above the state average on only seven areas.“When you look at the overall picture, our staff, students and community should be proud of the work that’s being done,” said Superintendent Jim Chandler.Across the board, R-III scored 1.23 points below the state average with all four subject areas combined. That cumulative figure improved from 3.27 under in 2015 and 4.95 under in 2014.“We continue to feel like we are focusing on the right things,” said Chandler. “Our benchmark is where we’re at versus the state. We’re seeing tremendous growth in that area.”The most significant improvement was in math. The district scored 1.7 points above the state average after having scored five below last year. One area in particular that stood out was third through fifth grade math and ELA all finishing above the state average.“Any time you’re above the state average, it’s a reason to celebrate,” said Chandler.English showed steady gains, with R-III students scoring 1.3 points above the state average. In the previous two years, those figures had been 1.9 and 2.2 points under the state bar.Social studies is an area that has shown some unpredictability, as the district landed 1.6 points under the state mark. In 2015, R-III students finished just above the average, recovering from a three-point deficit the previous year.Over the course of four years, R-III students have shown considerable gains in social studies, going from 8.2 points under to 1.6 points under from 2013 to 2016.“To be above the state average, you’re going to have to be in the top half of the state,” said Chandler. “Consistently each year we’ve looked at the data and studied what our weaknesses are.”The greatest area of concern was in science, where the district finished 6.3 points under the state average, only a minor improvement from -6.7 in 2015.“What we do know is that our fifth-grade science was above state average,” said Chandler. “Also, we moved biology from freshman level to a junior level class, since more schools were testing it at a junior level.”The state averages for 2016 were 64.2 percent in English language arts, 50.3 in math, 45.8 in science and 61.6 in social studies.Chandler says the goal is to reach the point where the district is exceeding the state mark in all four subject areas.“We want to determine how we can get above the state average for all four of those tested areas,” said Chandler. “It’s exciting to get those big jumps, but we want to have those gradual improvements in growth.”Warren Co. R-III School District