2018 state test results are out, and the news is good!
Students showed improvement in every grade and subject area, with more students scoring in the top three proficiency levels and fewer scoring in levels one and two. You can see how your school and district fared here. Perhaps the best news of all is that school districts that were rated F in 2017 showed considerable improvement. Every traditional public school district that was rated F last year increased the percent of students who scored proficient and advanced.
• in English/Language Arts, 40 school districts had more than 45 percent of their students score proficient or advanced – compared to just 22 districts in 2017 and 14 districts in 2016
• in mathematics, 52 school districts had more than 45 percent of their students score proficient or advanced in mathematics – compared to just 32 districts in 2017 and 15 in 2016
Fewer students met the new, higher proficiency benchmark for the English II exam, and English teachers are crying foul. The score required for a student to be considered proficient in English II was raised by seven points for the 2017-2018 test. This is a significant change that masks some of the academic growth that students and teachers worked so hard to achieve, and it is likely to have at least some impact on high schools’ accountability ratings. Some states set a three-point cap on the degree to which a raw score requirement can be raised from one year to the next.
We’ve done a little digging through the data for all grades and subjects, and we are astounded by the impressive gains being made in so many of our school districts. Teachers and students, your hard work is paying off. We are proud of you!