Gooding High School has earned an Exceptional Yearly Growth Award in mathematics for 2008 from the Idaho State Board of Education. The board gives three different awards to schools with exceptional performance on the Idaho Student Achievement Test as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Fifty-eight Idaho schools were honored with the Exceptional Growth Award which recognizes schools that have shown growth of 20 percent or more on the ISAT and attained Adequate Yearly Progress goals.

Gooding High School's growth was a gain of 26.71 percent over the previous yearly ISAT testing of sophomore grade math students.

Margo Healy, director of assessment and accountability for the State Board of Education wrote in a congratulatory letter that if Gooding High School achieves that kind of improvement next year, it will exceed its Adequate Yearly Progress goal and be out of school improvement status in math.

High school principal Eric Raine said, "Three years ago we changed our schedule. Our teachers have spent a lot of time aligning the curriculum so that the math departments in elementary, middle and high school will know exactly what each grade is teaching. We have worked especially hard at the middle and high school levels."

Raine said last year's sophomore class was the first to be tested under the new schedule.

Joel Caldwell, a math teacher at Gooding High School since 1969, Sally Toone, 30 years as a math teacher, and Kris Arkoosh, math tutor and part-time teacher, make up the high school math department.

They say they are thrilled with this improvement, but it hasn't been easy for students or teachers.

"We are working diligently," Toone stated. "We now have a study hall to help math students and we have established more tutoring. It is good to be a teacher when you know everyone is putting forth a great effort so that it allows students to be successful."

Mary Hanson may be reached at mhansonmbd@aol.com.