Most schools improved on MAP test scores

Most area schools in Phelps County showed improvements on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) testing this year compared to 2011 results.

In addition, all four districts in the county — Rolla District 31, Newburg R-II, St. James R-I and Phelps County R-III — all earned full accreditation.

MAP test results were released to the public by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) earlier this month.

The MAP test scores and other performance measures are used to develop each school district’s Annual Performance Report (APR).

The APR provides an update on how districts are meeting state standards in 14 areas, which are the foundation for Missouri’s accreditation requirements for public schools. In addition to the test scores, attendance, graduation rates, ACT test scores and other indicators are used to determine each district’s APR.

A K-12 school district must meet at least nine of the 14 accreditation standards to be fully accredited and at least six to be provisionally accredited.

Rolla Schools

For the Rolla School District, this will the 10th time out of 11 years that the district has been fully accredited. The Rolla district met all 14 standards and received two additional bonus points as well as five out of the six gap bonus points, according to Superintendent Dr. Aaron Zalis.

Students districtwide improved from about 61.39 percent proficient or advanced in 2011 to 66.93 percent in 2012 in communication arts and rose from approximately 61.71 percent in 2011 to 63.49 percent this year in math.

The superintendent also noted Rolla schools did well on the optional End-of-Course (EOC) tests that were given in English I, algebra II, geometry and American history.

Beginning with the graduating class of 2016, those tests — with the exception of algebra II — will be required, as well as End-of-High-School English and math tests.

Zalis attributed the improvement to the focused work by the district’s teachers, principals and assistant superintendents.

“I want to give our teachers the credit, but also our parents have to get them (students) here and the students have to understand (the importance of meeting the standards),” Zalis said.

“I’m very pleased,” Zalis said, noting the scores achieved have been the highest so far in the school district. He said school officials are anxious to see how the scores will be affected next year with the new scoring guide through the Missouri School Improvement Plan (MSIP) 5, which is the fifth version of the standards.

During the transition from 4th Cycle to MSIP 5, DESE will not designate districts with Distinction in Performance.

St. James R-I

The St. James School District saw an improvement in proficient or advanced math scores from approximately 58.05 percent in 2011 to 60.26 percent in 2012, but saw a decrease in communication arts, which dropped from about 61.98 percent in 2011 to 59.75 percent in 2012 districtwide.

Joy Tucker, superintendent of the St. James schools, said that data includes students from the Boys Town of Missouri.

The district is fully accredited and met 12 out of the 14 standards. The two areas the district did not meet were graduation rates and college placement.

According to the superintendent, the district has deeply invested a lot of work together among its staff and has done a lot of data analysis. The data helps assess the strengths and weaknesses of the students and school officials have made lots of data-driven decisions to do what they feel is best for their students.

The district very much appreciates the students, parents and teachers and would not be able to make these improvements without all three groups, the superintendent said.

Newburg R-II

Newburg students made a significant improvement over last year’s scores, according to the data, with the percentage of students proficient or advanced in communication arts going up from about 43.97 percent in 2011 to 51.10 percent in 2012. In math, the improvement was larger — from approximately 38.87 percent to 48.89 percent.

Superintendent John Westerman told school board members Aug. 16, “We just did really well. We’re happy with the improvement we’ve made. We met in all of the academic areas and that’s important.”

Westerman said the Newburg School District met 12 out of the 14 standards, plus one bonus point, meaning the district is fully accredited.

One area where Newburg schools didn’t meet was career placement, which was due to mixup in the way it was reported, Westerman said. “The other area we didn’t meet was in ACT,” he said.

Phelps County R-III

Students in the Phelps County R-III School District, which covers the Edgar Springs area, improved from about 42.06 percent being proficient or advanced in 2011 to 53.98 percent in 2012 in communication arts, and increased from approximately 49.62 percent being proficient or advanced in 2011 to 54.24 percent this year in math.

Sherry Heavin, superintendent, said her staff participated in lots of professional development in the areas of communication arts and mathematics.

“The teachers have really stepped up to the plate and the students are working hard,” Heavin said. “We put in place a curriculum that addresses the needs of our students based on our assessment and data, which is tracked each quarter.”

Heavin also said the school district has more of a balanced literacy/reading instruction for the curriculum.

“One of the major things that helps us is that we offer preschool and that experience helps our neediest students be ready for kindergarten,” she said.

A K-8 school district, like Phelps County R-III, must meet at least five of the seven accreditation standards to be fully accredited and at least four to be provisionally accredited.

Phelps County R-III met five of the standards, meaning it is fully accredited. The two areas not met were attendance and grade point averages.

Statewide Results

Statewide results show the overall percentages of students in Missouri scoring at the proficient or advanced levels improved from 54.6 percent in 2011 to 55 percent in 2012 in communication arts and from 54.3 percent in 2011 to 55 percent in 2012 in math.

Nearly 600,000 students took MAP tests last spring in communication arts, mathematics, science and social studies. MAP tests are administered annually at all public schools in Missouri.

Beginning this year, DESE will not be using MAP test scores to determine a school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report, as previously required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

In June, Missouri received a waiver that allows the state to use its own accountability system to more effectively identify and assist struggling schools and recognize schools achieving exemplary results.

School districts received this year’s MAP test data and APR information a month earlier than ever before.

MAP test scores and APR information are available through DESE’s web-based Missouri Comprehensive Data System (MCDS) at www.mcds.dese.mo.gov.