Proficiency decline?
By Jennifer Colton | Argus Observer
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 1:13 PM PDT
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| Jennifer Colton | Argus Observer
Fourth-graders Benjamin Hinatsu (clockwise from left), 10, Elijah Nawahine, 10, Kody Graves, 9, and Spencer Hanigan, 10, work on math exercises at Fruitland Elementary School Monday. Despite dropping proficiency rates on the Idaho Direct Math Assessment, area school officials say students are still meeting state standards.
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New Plymouth - Despite dropping assessment scores across Idaho, area school officials say local students are proficient in math skills.
During the 2006 to 2007 school year, the percentage of students receiving a passing grade on the Idaho Direct Math Assessment dropped in each administered grade level - 5 percent in fourth grade, 9 percent in sixth grade and 10 percent in eighth grade.
“I don't see it as a big problem in our district,” Fruitland School District Superintendent Alan Felgenhauer said of the assessment results.
Each autumn students in Idaho take the Idaho Direct Math Assessment and the Idaho Direct Writing Assessment to test their knowledge of state standards. Questions on the exams are written by Idaho teachers.
Idaho students in fourth-, sixth- and eighth-grade take the math assessment and students in fifth-, seventh- and ninth-grades take the writing portion.
Students receive scores between one and four, where scores of one - significantly below standards - or two - below standards - are failing and scores of three - meets standards - and four - exceeds standards - are passing.
Across the state, the number of students meeting the math assessment standards fell in each grade level.
However, locally, Fruitland, New Plymouth and Payette school districts each reported an increase in the number of students in one grade who passed the Idaho Direct Math Assessment. In New Plymouth, 74 percent of eighth-graders in the 2006 to 2007 school year achieved a passing score on the math assessment - well above the 58 percent statewide average and up from 63 percent recorded in the 2005 to 2006 school year. However, Idaho Direct Math Assessment scores in both fourth- and sixth-grades dropped almost 20 percent in New Plymouth.
“We look at did they change the test,” Kerby said. “It was scored differently, so it's really not an apples to apples comparison.”
In the past, two different people scored each test, and the scores were then averaged, often giving a “half” score, Kerby said. For example, if one grader gave the assessment a 3 - meets standards - and the second gave the assessment a 2 - below standards - the student's final score would be 2.5, which would be passing.
“This year there were no halves,” Kerby said. “When the whole, entire state drops, that raises a red flag. That says more about the test than it does the kids. We wish we knew more about what happened on the scoring, but we can't change it.”
Kerby said teachers and administrators in the New Plymouth School District evaluated the results and outlined strategies to improve student scores soon after receiving the results.
“This is something that we do a lot of strategizing about here,” Kerby said. “We'll look at what subjects are covered by the test, what areas are low, are those subjects covered by the curriculum, were the kids prepared for the format of the test? They may have been prepared for the material but not the format.”
Teachers are now looking toward preparing students for the ISAT - Idaho Standardized Achievement Test - in April and May, but Kerby warned that results from the ISATs could be lower than in the past as well.
“Another piece of the puzzle is waiting to see how the ISATs come out,” Kerby said. “They changed testing companies this year also. We're not even going to know the results until the middle of June. This isn't a good year to look at scores too closely. You have to look at the big picture. You have to analyze, react to every test, but you don't overreact to any one test.”
