DERRY — The district’s latest round of NECAP science test scores for grades four and eight are at or above state averages, but there are still some areas administrators would like to work on.

The test results are just one measure the district uses to measure student achievement and adjust its curriculum, according to Assistant Superintendent MaryAnn Connors-Krikorian.

“It’s not the be all and end all on achievement, but it does show what we do and where we can go with curriculum,” she said.

The science test is divided into four categories: physical science, earth and space science, life science and inquiry tasks.

While the first three categories are more standardized question-based, the inquiry task gives the fourth- and eight-graders more hands-on or analytical problems to solve.

In both the fourth and eighth grade, students performed above the state average on the inquiry tasks, and Krikorian said that came as no real surprise.

She said there is a great emphasis on inquiry tasks and hands-on learning within the current curriculum.

Several of the fourth-graders who took the test said they found the inquiry task portion of the science NECAP surprisingly easy, largely because of that emphasis on inquiry tasks in the classroom.

The one area where Derry fell slightly below the state average was in the fourth-grade scores in physical science.

“Physical science will be an area of focus for us in grade four, as well as in first, second, and third grade,” Krikorian said.

The focus will not necessarily be on focusing on straight physical science content, but by embedding more physical science concepts into inquiry tasks.

“Even if we are a little bit behind, we want to be above the state average,” Krikorian said.

Although the testing shows Derry students doing well with the inquiry tasks, Krikorian said the district can’t afford to sit idly.

“If we don’t continue to make the inquiry tasks more challenging, the state will catch up,” she said.

Teachers, administrators and leadership teams will analyze the full NECAP results to continue to refine the district curriculum process, according to Krikorian.

“We are proud of our students’ efforts,” she said. “I truly believe they take the NECAP seriously. It is a challenging test.”

School Board member Dan McKenna said there is always room for improvement, but overall he saw the test results as positive, with more students moving into the proficient learner levels.

“We are seeing those numbers trend up pretty much across the board,” he said.

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Adam Swift may be reached at aswift@newstote.com.