The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
State MEAP scores reflect improvement in district
Elementary writing, math scores up from last year's assessment
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: April 17, 2008
Manchester Community Schools officials say they are pleased with the results of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test scores released by the Department of Education April 8.
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"The results of the MEAP tests show an overall increase in student performance," superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin said.
Following a statewide trend, area students improved their performance last fall on the math portion of the MEAP test compared to the previous school year. Lewis-Lakin said students in third through seventh grades also saw significant improvement on the writing portion of the test.
"Last year our writing scores were cause for some concern and after reviewing this year's scores, it shows us that those concerns are being addressed," he said. "That credit for our improvement in this area goes to the students, teachers, educational staff and families who are working hard to help our children succeed."
According to the 2007 MEAP results, the number of students in Manchester who scored at a proficient level in writing in the third grade went up 23 percent from 35 percent in 2006 to 58 percent in 2007. The number of fourth grade students reaching proficiency in writing went up from 29 to 40 percent, while the percentage of fifth grade students achieving proficient scores in writing increased from 37 to 67 percent.
"As a general rule, when the percentage proficient does not change by more than 3 percent, the score has basically stayed the same," Lewis-Lakin said. "Using this standard and looking at the 28 areas in which scores were released, we saw our scores increase in 14 areas, remain the same in eight areas and decline in six areas."
Lewis-Lakin said it's difficult to compare the performance of one group of students to another from year to year.
"There are differences between last year's third graders and this year's third graders. We need to be cautious in comparing grade level scores year to year," he said. "Moreover, the sample size in any given group is between 90 and 110, which in statistical terms is not large. A handful of students scoring at a different level can cause scores to swing plus or minus 5 percent."
Though scores have improved, Lewis-Lakin said the district still stands to increase their overall performance in the future.
"We still need to focus our improvement efforts...but these scores provide us with some evidence that we are making progress," he said.
Lewis-Lakin said he has full confidence in the district's education program.
"This is only one measurement taken over a select period of time. It's a snapshot using a single instrument," he said. "Any student achievement data is good to the degree it is used to improve student achievement. If the information we receive from assessment results — be they MEAP results or the results of any test -- can help us improve learning for students, then the date is good.
"Our task now is to work with the data we have received with the goal of improving learning for all of our students."
To view the entire MEAP results online, visit the Web site, www.michigan.gov/mde.
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