Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of articles on the results from the End-of-course exams that were recently announced.
Dollarway School District Superintendent Frank Anthony minces no words when it comes to explaining what needs to be done to improve student End-of-course exam scores in Algebra I, Geometry, and Biology and in the 11th grade Literacy exam, the results of which were recently released.
The exams are administered every spring to junior and senior high school students as an assessment of subject mastery.
Mastery is defined as achieving at the proficient or advanced level on the assessment tests.
“These exams measure mastery of key content,” Anthony said. “Most of the time we’ve had a lot of difficulties in math and in literacy. I believe that the best plan of attack for bringing up test scores is to strive for vertical success. By that I mean that we start with building a foundation in the elementary schools for mastery of these subjects. You must first master arithmetic before you can master Algebra I, for example. We must do a better job at the elementary level.”
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“Many of our teachers are seasoned and have been teaching for many years,” Anthony said. “Elementary certification 30 or 40 years ago didn’t require a lot of mathematics. So, at the fifth through seventh grade levels we need to do some retraining and add some content knowledge. We then need to move that on up the grade levels.”
Anthony said that building principals, teachers and academic coaches must work to complement each other in their efforts to excite and motivate students about learning.
“They must team up and get their expertise in line,” Anthony said. “The administration must pick the right people for these positions and get the right supplemental outside support including funding and materials.”
Anthony said that another component of ensuring subject mastery by students is the implementation of a quarterly or monthly system to monitor their progress.
“We must determine if a subject is being mastered and if not we need to double down and make sure that it is mastered,” Anthony said. “We must test, target and teach.”
Anthony said that a waiver recently granted to the Arkansas Department of Education by the U.S. Department of Education will allow state school districts to switch from some of the Adequate Yearly Progress standards under the No Child Left Behind Act to a more achievable set of goals.
“Under the new system, school districts will be given six years to reduce by half the percentage of students who are not testing at the proficient or advanced levels,” Anthony said. “This new system is doable as opposed to the old system which was extremely difficult to implement. Asking for 100 percent mastery for all school districts is just not realistic.”
Test results
The end-of-course exams are criterion-referenced tests that are taken by students at the completion of a course of study to determine whether a student demonstrates attainment of the knowledge and skills necessary for mastery of that subject.
Criterion-referenced tests are customized around the Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks, which outline the goals and standards for each subject.
The test results divide students by percentage into four performance levels used to gauge student achievement; including advanced, proficient, basic and below basic.
The Arkansas Department of Education defines advanced as the demonstration of superior performance well beyond proficient grade-level performance; proficient as a demonstration of solid academic performance for the grade tested and being well prepared for the next level; basic as students who show substantial skills but only partially demonstrate the ability to apply these skills; and below basic as failing to show sufficient mastery to attain the basic level.
The score results for the 2011-2012, 2010-2011 and 2009-2010 school years are included here for comparison.
Literacy
The Literacy exam is administered to 11th graders in March. The scores for Dollarway High School are included.
In March, 88 students took the exam, with 1 percent scoring at the advanced level; 33 percent proficient; 52 percent basic; 14 percent below basic.
In March 2011, 103 students took the exam, with 3 percent scoring at the advanced level; 30 percent proficient; 51 percent basic and 16 percent below basic.
In March 2010, 124 students took the exam, with none scoring at the advanced level; 34 percent proficient; 52 percent basic and 14 percent below basic.
Algebra I
The Algebra I end-of-course exam is administered in May. The scores for Dollarway High School and Robert F. Morehead Middle School are included.
In May, 85 DHS students took the exam, with 2 percent scoring at the advanced level; 14 percent proficient; 51 percent basic and 33 percent below basic.
In May, 40 Robert F. Morehead Middle School students took the exam, with 30 percent scoring at the advanced level; 55 percent proficient; 15 percent basic and none scoring below basic.
In May 2011, 58 DHS students took the exam, with none scoring at the advanced level; 5 percent proficient; 53 percent basic and 41 percent below basic.
In May 2011, 25 Robert F. Morehead Middle School students took the exam, with 32 percent scoring at the advanced level; 60 percent proficient; 8 percent basic and none scoring below basic.
In May 2010, 67 DHS students took the exam, with 10 percent scoring at the advanced level; 12 percent proficient; 26 percent basic and 52 percent below basic.
In May 2010, 35 Robert F. Morehead Middle School students took the exam, with 20 percent scoring at the advanced level; 71 percent proficient; 9 percent basic and none scoring below basic.
Geometry
The Geometry end-of-course exam is administered in April of each school year. The scores for Dollarway High School are included.
In April, 93 students took the exam, with none scoring at the advanced level; 23 percent proficient; 46 percent basic and 31 percent below basic.
In April 2011, 104 students took the exam, with 2 percent scoring at the advanced level; 21 percent proficient; 48 percent basic and 29 percent below basic.
In April 2010, 133 students took the exam, with none scoring at the advanced level; 21 percent proficient; 42 percent basic and 37 percent below basic.
Biology
The Biology end-of-course exam is administered in April of each school year. The scores for Dollarway High School are included.
In April, 106 students took the exam, with 1 percent scoring at the advanced level; 9 percent proficient; 38 percent basic and 52 percent below basic.
In April 2011, 90 students took the exam, with 1 percent scoring at the advanced level; 8 percent proficient; 46 percent basic and 46 percent below basic.
In April 2010, 116 students took the exam, with none scoring at the advanced level; 11 percent proficient; 38 percent basic and 51 percent below basic.