ST. CLOUD -- A number of under-performing elementary schools in the St. Cloud Area School District are making improvements in reading proficiency, especially among non-English learners. But, those same schools have more work to do.

Test scores from the Minnesota Department of Education show Talahi has made a 10% improvement in reading scores each year for the past three years, Westwood Elementary has improved for the last two years and Lincoln School is also up in the latest round of testing.

District 742 Assistant Superintendent Marsha Baisch says the numbers are trending upward across all demographics and they are seeing gains in closing the achievement gap.

Baisch says the math scores are lagging behind, but a full adoption of a new math curriculum is expected to help moving forward.

District officials believe reading scores are going up because of more professional development for teachers, a new reading curriculum two years ago, and co-teaching...where a second certified teacher is brought into the classroom to help students.

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