JACKSON STUDENTS PASS TESTS

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson students outperformed state averages and district results from the previous year in most areas of a state achievement exam last year.

The Jackson Board of Education heard the district's results on the Missouri Assessment Program assessment during its meeting Tuesday. Students in six grade levels took required portions of the test in mathematics, communication arts, science and social studies last spring.

Health and physical education and fine arts exams will be phased in for particular grade levels over the next two years.

The Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, replaced the multiple-choice Missouri Mastery and Achievement Test in 1998 as the state assessment tool. The more challenging MAP assessment reduces multiple-choice questions to a mere one-third of the test. The remainder of the exam requires students to complete fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions that require students to show their work. The tests are individually graded by trained scorers.

The objective of the exam is for the majority of students to perform at a near-proficient, proficient or advanced scoring level on the exam. In most cases, Jackson students reached these objectives, which are used by the state in determining accreditation, said school administrator Sam Duncan.

"We've got a lot to be proud of," he said. "The comparison against the state averages are impressive in most instances. In a comparison against ourselves, we have a scenario where we are really showing some improvements from one year to the next.".