The results of the STAR math test show improvement in most grade levels for basic math skills, except for sixth grade.

Assistant Superintendent Lance Gibbon explained the results at an Oak Harbor School Board meeting this month.

“We’re seeing greater than typical results,” Gibbon said. Generally, the scores are above the national average.

This is the third year the district has been using the STAR math test. It emphasizes computational skills in grades one through eight. Teachers look at each student’s scores to see individual growth as well as class trends.

Grade six is the only grade that saw a drop in scores from fall to winter, Gibbon said.

“I feel like we’re falling off the edge there,” school board member Gary Wallin said.

Gibbon said the lower scores may be due to the changing curriculum so the test scores should be taken with a grain of salt. This is the second school year using the new math textbooks.

Elementary school classes generally saw improvement.

“We feel like there’s definitely some correlation on how well students do on this and on the MSP,” Gibbon said.

The MSP is the Measurements of Student Progress, the standardized state exam for students in grades three through eight.