MAP testing results show little progress

Most Missouri students fared only slightly better or worse than a year ago in meeting state standards in reading, math and science, according to data released today by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Results from the Missouri Assessment Program also showed that overall, tested students met yearly progress guidelines set out by a new federal law. More than 500,000 students took the MAP tests earlier this year.

MAP results for individual schools will be released in early September.

Kent King, Missouri's education commissioner, said he was not pleased by the testing results.

"I am disappointed," King said. "We didn't see the kind of growth that I would have hoped and anticipated that we would see. When I look at those scores, I just don't see the kind of improvement I thought I would."

King said there has been slight improvement in the scores in the five years since the tests began, but he feels those advances are not significant enough. King said it was too early to determine where some of the problems exist.

Local school officials are anxiously awaiting news of individual school scores.

"We're dealing with it as it develops. We'll analyze our scores to death no matter what," said Cape Girardeau superintendent Mark Bowles. "I don't know what to expect at this point."

Officials in both Cape Girardeau and Jackson said whether they meet state guidelines or not won't have a huge impact on how they address the 2003 MAP scores.

"Regardless of whether we're labeled as needing improvement, if there's any room for improvement we'll come up with a strategy and try to get to the root of the problem," said Jackson superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson.

The numbers

Fewer third- and 11th-grade students met state reading standards last school year, while older students showed improvement in math and science.

Third graders who scored at the "proficient" reading level on the MAP test fell to 32.7 percent in 2003, down from 33.6 percent in 2002. Scores of 11th-grade students fell from 23 percent in 2002 to 21.4 percent in 2003. Seventh-grade students reading scores increased from 30 percent in 2002 to 30.6 percent in 2003.

There were slight drops in all grades for those who scored "advanced" on the reading scores, which play an important role in whether a school is accredited by the state.

"Proficient" students meet the minimum state requirements of their grade level; "advanced" students test above their grade level.

Fourth-grade math scores at proficient levels went from 29.9 percent in 2002 to 30.6 percent in 2003 while eighth-graders' scores increased from 12.5 percent to 12.8 percent. The percentage of tenth-grade students who were proficient in math went from 9.9 percent to 11.5 percent.

The number of those students who scored advanced in third-grade math dropped from 7.7 percent to 6.6 percent, while eighth grade advanced scores fell from 1.2 percent to 1.1 percent. Advanced math scores for tenth-graders stayed about the same.

In science, the number of advanced students increased slightly among third-, seventh- and tenth-graders. Students in seventh grade saw their proficiency rating go from 12.2 percent to 12.7 percent while tenth-graders considered proficient in science went from 4.5 percent to 5.1 percent.

Third-grade students who were proficient in science fell from 38.7 percent in 2002 to 38.1 in 2003.

Meeting federal standard

Meanwhile, Missouri met its overall progress goals in reading and math set out by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Overall, Missouri exceeded its state reading proficiency goal of 19.4 percent when students in various ethnic and socio-economic groups scored 29.8 percent. In math, the number of total students ranking proficient in those groups was 21.3 percent, well above the goal of 9 percent.

Among those not meeting the progress requirements were black, Asian and Hispanic students; groups meeting the standard were whites, American Indians and Pacific Islanders.

Disabled students and those who are determined to have a limited ability to speak English did not meet the reading or math goals.

"It tells me we need more work in those areas, that those are the areas the kids have not been getting the most attention," King said. "Hopefully, this will cause us to do something different and pay more attention to certain groups of kids."

-- Missourian staff writer Callie Clark contributed to this story

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, schools must make a certain amount of improvement -- known as adequate yearly progress -- on annual state tests in math and communication arts or risk sanctions. Here are the current percentages:

Communication Arts

Percent of students required to score at or above proficient: 19.4

Statewide total: 29.8 percent

Asian: 43.7 percent *

Black: 12.0 percent

Hispanic: 21.3 percent *

Indian: 22.7 percent

Pacific Islander: 26 percent

White: 33.9 percent

Other: 24.1 percent*

Math

Percent of students required to score at or above proficient: 9.3 percent

Statewide total: 21.3 percent

Asian: 42.1 percent *

Black: 8.3 percent

Hispanic: 14.8 percent *

Indian: 13 percent

Pacific Islander: 16.3 percent

White: 24.4 percent

Other: 14.9 percent*

* These subgroups met the score requirements, but because fewer than 95 percent of students in that group were tested, the group automatically does not meet AYP.