Cedar River Academy posts impressive test scores

Cedar River Academy recently announced its standardized test results.

Each year, CRA third- and fifth-grade students sit for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills battery. Compared to all United States schools that administer the ITBS, this year’s Cedar River Academy third-grade students ranked in the 96th percentile and the fifth-grade students ranked in the 98th percentile.

ITBS is used by thousands of schools across the U.S. to measure and report student and school performance. The ITBS battery includes measurement of reading, language and mathematics skills.

“In the spring of each year, Cedar River Academy has administered the ITBS battery,” said Kristin McSwan, curriculum coordinator. “In each of the last three years, CRA students have performed exceptionally well, demonstrating the positive impact of our Student-Centered Education Model. While standardized test results have little real value for students, they do provide one element of evidence of a school’s performance.”

Cedar River Academy is a private, non-sectarian, college prep day school occupying the J.J. Smith Elementary School building in Enumclaw. The academy applies research-based learning methods designed to focus on continuous progress of individual students.

“Our student body is intentionally heterogeneous,” said Roger Franklin, Cedar River Academy CEO. “Eighteen percent of our students are English Language Learners, eighteen percent have moderate to acute learning challenges, and fifty-five percent receive financial aid. We accept students as they are, and build on their strengths. Our Student-Centered Education Model is distinctly different from education models used in the majority of other schools.”

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