Assessment scores in Cape schools can't be compared to past years

While Cape Girardeau School District officials say they are pleased with most scores received from the 2015 Missouri Assessment Program, the data can't be compared to previous years.

The test scores, released last week by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, are the first from an assessment given in the spring that was designed to gauge how well students are learning standards fully implemented for the first time last school year. This also was the first time students in grades three through eight were tested online.

The new math and English standards are aligned with national Common Core guidelines for what students should learn in each grade, but students will face a different test this year and next year after lawmakers acted to block state money from going to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium -- which is linked to Common Core -- and required the education department to develop a new, Missouri-based assessment. The state will use a temporary test this year and implement the new standards and test in 2016-2017.

Christa Turner, interim director of academic services at the Cape Girardeau district, said putting the 2015 results next to the previous year's would be like comparing apples and oranges.

"We're still using it to show us what the strengths and weaknesses are, but we're not using it in comparison to 2014 data," she said.

While comparing the district and state averages, however, 19 tests throughout the district had scores above the state average -- nine more than 2014.

"We're very pleased with our scores at the elementary level, especially," she said. "Those students in elementary school who haven't experienced that big change in the middle of their educational career are being more successful at it. Those students in the upper grades -- middle school, junior high -- had a big change after they already started their educational careers. So, it's going to take a little time to close that gap between where they started and the new standards."

MAP-A scores are not included in the totals, DESE said, and are expected to be available in September. The state also will release annual performance reports by October that will paint a clearer picture of results and trends.

"What we will do with our building principals is we will sit down and look at the details of the test and where our students did really well," Turner said. "And we will formulate a plan with building administration and also teachers of those content areas as far as what we need to do a little differently to help our students be more successful in their future."

State results

At the state level, 59.7 percent of Missouri students scored proficient or advanced in English and about 45 percent passed the mathematics test, according to DESE. Nearly 57 percent passed science, and social studies had the highest passing rate at 63.4 percent.

Data show districtwide scores at Cape Girardeau schools are similar to state trends: 56.6 percent passed English, 41.7 percent passed math, 43.9 percent passed science, and the district's highest passing rate was in social studies as well, at 61.3 percent.

More than half Missouri's students in grades three through eight scored proficient in English, with a low of 55 percent of sixth-grade students testing at proficient and a high of about 59 percent of students in fifth grade.

A high of 52 percent of third-grade students were at least proficient in math. Scores dropped in the higher grades to roughly 28 percent of some eighth-grade students testing as proficient.

Cape elementary schools

• At Alma Schrader Elementary, 77.6 percent of third-graders scored proficient in English and 54.1 percent in math. More than 67 percent of fourth-graders scored proficient or higher in English, and a little more than 52 percent scored proficient in math.
• Blanchard Elementary third- and fourth-graders also fared well in English and math, with 64.5 percent of third-graders scoring at least proficient in math and fourth-graders at 78.6 percent. In English, 77.4 percent of third-graders passed, and 81.8 percent of fourth-graders passed.
• At Clippard Elementary, about 71 percent of third-graders passed math, and 74.3 percent of fourth-graders passed. A little more than 80 percent of fourth-graders scored at least proficient in English, and nearly 72 percent of third-grade students passed.
• Franklin Elementary students had lower scores, with 48.5 percent of third-grade students scoring below basic in math. Less than 20 percent scored proficient. A little more than 33 percent of third-graders passed English, and 40.4 percent of fourth-graders passed.
• At Jefferson Elementary, 33.8 percent of third-graders passed English and 35.3 percent passed math. Just over 39 percent of fourth-graders passed English and 35.7 percent math.

Central Middle

At Central Middle School, a little more than half of fifth- and sixth-grade students passed English. Nearly 42 percent of sixth-graders passed math, and 33.6 of fifth-graders passed. The highest passing rate for fifth-graders was 61.7 percent in science.

Central Junior High

At Central Junior High School, 49.1 percent of seventh-grade students passed English, and 45.5 percent of eighth-graders passed.

"For English language arts seventh- and eighth-grade, we definitely made some gains compared to the state average," said principal Carla Fee. "Our math mirrored really what the state did. Ours did go down, but we expected that somewhat because the curriculum did change, and the testing format had changed."

Nearly 30 percent of seventh-graders scored at least proficient on math, and 12.3 percent of eighth-grade students passed.

"A lot of people don't realize that for our eighth-grade math, our top 40 students don't take the MAP because they're taking the algebra EOC (end-of-course assessment) high-school test. So, they're not included in our regular MAP scores," Fee said.

All students who took Algebra I scored at least proficient, and about 28 percent of eighth-graders passed science.

"Our teachers look at data every year, and we try to pinpoint those weak areas and continue to do our very best to bring our kids up to that testing level," Fee said, adding the school is excited about its new student advisory period. "It's going to give us another tool to help our kids get to where they need to be. In addition, we have an after-school tutoring program that we really push."

Central High

Central High School principal Chris Kase said one of the areas the school had focused on over the past couple of years was math, and the school saw a rise in scores.

Students who scored proficient or advanced in Algebra I totaled at about 44 percent, data show, but that still falls behind the state average of 62 percent.

Slightly more than 66 percent of the high school's students passed English, and about 62 percent scored proficient or advanced in biology. In government, about 61 percent of students scored proficient or advanced.

Kase said the school is going to keep working toward getting percentages closer to state averages.

"We do have some work still," Kase said, but the progress was a "big leap in the right direction."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

klamb@semissourian.com

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