By Lexi MooreAccording to results released this month by the Minnesota Department of Education, students at Hills-Beaver Creek performed above average on the required Basic Skills Tests.The BSTs are reading, mathematics and writing tests that students must pass to receive diplomas from public high schools in Minnesota. The reading and mathematics tests are first administered in eighth grade and the writing test in 10th grade. Students who need to re-take any of these tests can do so multiple times until they are able to pass all three tests.H-BC eighth graders performed above the Minnesota average on both the reading and mathematics tests.Of the 29 students that took both tests, 27 passed, giving H-BC a 93.10 percent passing rate compared with the state average of 84.76 percent.On the whole, Minnesota eighth graders improved their performance on the 2005 BSTs in reading and math, according to results from the MDE."Of the more than 63,500 eighth graders taking the reading BST for the first time, 85 percent met state requirements for passing, up from 81 percent in the last two years," the report stated.On the math BST, 74 percent of eighth graders passed on their first attempt compared with 71 percent in 2004 and 72 percent in 2003. All 23 H-BC 10th graders passed the writing performance BST test, giving H-BC a 100 percent passing. Of Minnesota’s 65,000 10th graders, 91 percent passed the test on their first try.Superintendent David Deragisch gave the H-BC School Board the test results during their Monday night meeting."Our students did very well again this year," he said.Board member Gary Esselink said, "Teachers and administrators should be complimented. These high scores, year after year, are hard to maintain. I feel they are doing an excellent job."Complete 2005 BST test results for all Minnesota schools can be found on the MDE Web site, http://education.state.mn.us
