Tagged: MEAP

This week, What’s Working focuses on education by taking a look at one Michigan school that went from academic mediocrity to being a model for educational reforms in the state. North Godwin Elementary is located just south of Grand Rapids in a working class community with a high immigrant population. Many families in the area are refugees from countries such as Bosnia, Cuba, Vietnam, and Liberia. A high number of students spend a few years learning English as a second language. 

When Arelis Diaz arrived as a teacher at North Godwin Elementary in 1995, the students were struggling to reach proficiency in basic skills. She spent five years as a teacher, and then served as principal of the school from 2000 to 2005. In that time, North Godwin’s students began excelling on standardized tests, bringing student proficiency rates to upwards of 80 percent across all subjects. That academic success at North Godwin continues today. The school has been the recipient of praise and awards for its turnaround, including the “Dispelling the Myth” award in 2010, given by The Educational Trust. 

Today, Governor Rick Snyder laid out his plan for education reform in Michigan. All Things Considered Host, Jenn White, sat down with Tom Watkins to discuss the details in Snyder's plan. Watkins is a Former State Superintendent who is currently a business and educational consultant in the United States and China. 

Math - 8th Grade - Top Ten Public Schools in Average MEAP Scores

1. Ann Arbor Public Schools - Clague Middle School    - 855
2. Troy School District - Boulan Park Middle School     - 853.4
3. Birmingham City School District - Birmingham Covington School - 852.8
4. Bloomfield Hills School District - Bloomfield Hills Middle School - 849.2
5. Bloomfield Hills School District - East Hills Middle School - 847.4
6. (TIE) Novi Community School District - Novi Middle School & Canton Charter Academy - Canton Charter Academy - 846.8
7. Bloomfield Hills School District - West Hills Middle School - 846.4
8. Ann Arbor Public Schools - Forsythe Middle School - 845.9
9. Troy School District - Smith Middle School - 845.5
10. Saginaw City School District - Saginaw Arts And Sciences Academy - 845.4

Reading - 8th Grade – Top Ten Public Schools in Average MEAP Scores

1. (TIE) Grand Rapids Public Schools - City Middle/High School & Birmingham City School District - Birmingham Covington School - 843.3
2. Saginaw City School District - Saginaw Arts And Sciences Academy - 843.1
3. Troy School District - Boulan Park Middle School - 842.9
4. Rochester Community School District - Van Hoosen Middle School - 841.8
5. Ann Arbor Public Schools - Clague Middle School - 840.9
6. (TIE) Okemos Public Schools - Chippewa Middle School & Leland Public School District - Leland Public School - 840.8
7. Birmingham City School District - Derby Middle School - 840.7
8. Ann Arbor Public Schools - Ann Arbor Open At Mack School 840.3
9. (TIE) Rochester Community School District - Hart Middle School & Woodland School - Woodland School - 839.9
10. Forest Hills Public Schools - Eastern Middle School – 839

Science - 8th Grade – Top Ten Public Schools in Average MEAP Scores

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. Education Center Academy - 882.6
2. David Ellis Academy West - David Ellis Academy West - 864.5
3. Woodland School - Woodland School - 848.8
4. Troy School District - Boulan Park Middle School - 846.5
5. Grand Rapids Public Schools - City Middle/High School - 843.1
6. Superior Central Schools - Superior Central School - 842.5
7. Ann Arbor Public Schools - Ann Arbor Open At Mack School - 840.6
8. South Lyon Community Schools - Millennium Middle School - 839.5
9. (TIE) Hudsonville Public School District - Baldwin Street Middle School & Birmingham City School District - Birmingham Covington School - 838.8
10. Forest Hills Public Schools - Northern Hills Middle School - 838.7
    

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) released the standardized test scores for schools across the state today. Students in grades 3 through 9 took the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test last fall.

Scores improved significantly in math, but remain flat in reading. The Detroit News highlighted the improvement in math scores:

Since 2005, scores have improved markedly in mathematics...In 2005, only 59.6 percent of seventh graders were proficient in math; that number has soared to 84.6 percent.

Improvement in reading scores, however, have remained flat. From the Detroit Free Press: 

Even though large numbers of students passed the exam, the percentage was down in 2010 from 2009 and showed little movement over the last six years. For example, the pass rate for third-graders dipped from 90% to 87%, while the pass rate for seventh-graders declined from 82% to 79%.

Some experts caution against making too much of the reading results. Elizabeth Birr Moje, with the University of Michigan's School of Education said, “schools are not necessarily neglecting literacy instruction. If anything, I see much greater attention than ever before.” Moje told the Free Press that the dip in this year's reading results could be 'anomalous.'

The state Board of Education voted in favor of raising the “cut scores” or cut off scores for what’s considered "proficient" on the state’s standardized MEAP test.

Susan Dynarski is an education professor at the University of Michigan:

"The cut score that the state has defined as indicating proficiency in math is currently set such that 95% of third graders are above that score. By moving up that score, 34 percent of third graders will be defined as proficient."

Dynarski says the new scores will give parents and schools a more accurate representation of how well students are doing and what areas need improvement:  

"The idea of the cut scores is to provide a signal about what proficiency is and what you should be aiming for, and if you set the bar at a higher level, the idea would be then that they’d be aiming for that higher level."

The new cut scores, which are still to be determined, will go into effect for the 2011-12 school year.