The Russellville Independent School Board heard a very promising report of the district’s latest test scores on Tuesday at its regular monthly meeting.

Assistant superintendent Susan McCloud gave a presentation of the district’s Plan and Explore test results that showed steady, marked improvement over the past four years.

The Plan and Explore tests are given to eighth and 10th grade students each year as precursors to the ACT.

Junior high students take the Plan test while high school sophomores take the Explore test - each in November.

In each of the past four years, eighth graders at Russellville have scored higher on the Explore test each time. In the 2009-10 school year, the school’s composite score was 13.6. That improved to 14.1 one year later, 14.3 last year and 14.8 this year.

On the Plan test, RHS sophomores scored a composite 15.9 in 2009-10. That went up to 16.0 one year later, 16.3 last year and 16.6 this year.

“We’re very pleased with those scores,” said Russellville schools superintendent Leon Smith. “We are showing steady progress each year and I think we’ll continue to see those gains.”

Students are also showing big improvements on the tests as they rise through the school system. This year’s current group of 10th graders scored an average composite score of 16.6. As eighth graders, they scored 14.1.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting the district approved a new contract with the Russellville Electric Plant Board for its fibre service for telephone and Internet.

“We’d been with them for a while and their prices came down considerably in this latest contract,” Smith said.