Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn released the pass rates for the 2009-10 Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE). Students in grade 3-8 take the MSP, and 10th grade students take the HSPE.
Compared to the previous year, only 7th and 8th grade students made across the board gains. Pass rates for students in grade 5 declined on all three exams. [Note: Math standards for the MSP differed this year, so correlations cannot yet be drawn between math scores this year and in previous years. The 10th grade math HSPE used the same standards as in previous years.] Pass rates on the HSPE declined in every subject by science. See the full breakdown on slide 5 here.
The results for this year’s 10th graders (Class of 2012) are not overly encouraging. The achievement gap grew in every subject and the decline of pass rates this year trends away from the gains students made in the previous few years.
So, let’s cut to the chase, er, charts:
Heather, to what might we attribute the various rises and falls of the scores at schools? Did children learn more or less? Did teachers teach better or worse? Did teachers have better or worse curricula given to them by the districts? Did administrors administrate differently, or did some schools lose points becuase a good admin left, the school that gained that admin gained, but both suffered slightly due to the change in admin (churn)? Or where the demographics different? Were students’ parents poorer this year than last, and more stressed?
My other question is about the categories. For instance, can someone tell me what it means when a student’s parents check, for instance, the “African American” category when they register into the district? What does this tell us, statistically? Does is inform us about the student’s wealth or poverty? About the student’s nationality? Color of skin? Parent status? What?