Education

Over 70 Percent Of VI Students Perform Below Standard In Math; More Than Half In English

The Virgin Islands Department of Education on Tuesday released its annual testing using the new Smarter Balanced assessments, with the latest being the department's second year conducting the test. Though D.O.E. noted improvements year-over-year in both mathematics and English Language tests, those increases were small -- 1.6 percent in mathematics, and 3.4 percent in English -- according to charts the department provided. The U.S. Virgin Islands, which uses Common Core standards, is part of 15 states that support the Smarter Balanced assessment, according to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, the public agency's official site. A majority of Virgin Islands students still perform poorly in mathematics, with 72.4 percent of students performing below standard in the 2015-16 school year. In English Language, 56 percent of students performed below standard in the 2015-16 school year, according to the charts. The tests were conducted with students in grades 3-8 and grade 1...