Statewide MME, ACT scores show 4-year increase; local districts largely follow trend
The Michigan Department of Education released 2013 Michigan Merit Exam and ACT scores Monday morning. The results show most districts are making four-year improvements.
MLive.com file photo
However, state education officials said over a four-year period, students' proficiencies have trended upward, with the largest gains occurring on the MME in mathematics and writing.
Since 2010, mathematics saw an average increase in percent proficient of more than 3 percent and writing saw an average increase of nearly 6 percent.
The MME is administered to high school juniors each spring and tests students' proficiency in math, reading, writing, science and social studies. More than 105,000 juniors were tested on both the merit exam and the ACT college entrance exam in the 2012-13 academic year.
Chart showing statewide averages for student proficiencies on the MME and ACT.
From the Michigan Department of Education
"Over the past four years, more high school students are being taught challenging content and are becoming career- and college-ready," State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said in a news release. "This upward trend is good news for students, educators and our state."
School districts in Washtenaw County largely followed the statewide trend of a slight decrease in performance scores from 2012 to 2013. But it was hit or miss on whether local districts have charted a four-year increase in the percentage of students testing proficient.
On the ACT, the average composite score of students in the Ann Arbor Public Schools increased from 23.1 in 2010 to 23.3 in 2013. Last year's average composite score topped out at 23.5.
Community High School continues to have the highest ACT scores in the Ann Arbor school system — although across all subjects areas CHS' average scores fell by about a point. Community's average composite score was 24.9 in 2013, compared with 26.2 in 2012.
Huron High School did have the highest average score in the district on the math portion of the ACT: a 24.3.
About 41.3 percent of AAPS students met the state's proficiency standards on the ACT this year. That percentage is down slightly from 2010 (41.8) and down about 2 percent from 2012.
Just 4.6 percent of students at Ypsilanti Public Schools tested proficient on the ACT, compared with 8 percent in 2012 and 4.7 percent in 2010.
However, the district's average composite score this year was a 16.7 — the highest average score for Ypsilanti in the past four years.
Dexter Community Schools had 40.1 percent of its students score proficient on the ACT for 2013, about a 2.5 percent increase from 2010. Its average ACT composite score was 23.2.
Saline Area Schools had the highest student proficiency rate in Washtenaw County on the ACT, with 47.9 percent of students meeting state standards. It also had the highest district average composite score (24).
Search the MLive database to see how your child's district and high school fared on the ACT.
On the Michigan Merit Exam, the Ann Arbor Public Schools saw a four-year increase in students testing proficient in all subject areas except for math and reading, which both decreased by a percentage point.
The district saw the greatest gains in writing, an increase of about 5 percent since 2010. Its percent proficient rates for both math and social studies increased by 3 percent.
Saline saw four-year improvements in all subject areas, with dramatic gains of 9 percent in science and social studies. Saline was up 6 percentage points in math, 5 percentage points in writing and 1 percentage point in reading.
Dexter also made significant growth in all subject areas: 8 percentage points in math, 6 percentage points in science and writing, 4 percentage points in social studies and 2 percentage points in reading.
The Ypsilanti Public Schools also saw noteworthy gains in three subject areas and broke even in one, social studies. The percentage of students scoring proficient increased 8 percentage points in reading, 4 percentage points in writing and 3 percentage points in social studies. The district declined 2 percent in math proficiency rates.
Search the MLive database to see how your child's district and high school fared on the MME.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
Nancy Shiffler
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 7:05 p.m.
The wording in the article is a little confusing. "Proficiency" is a standard attached to the MME, which includes the ACT plus additional items which are needed to address the parts of the Michigan curriculum standards not addressed by the ACT. The ACT does not have a "proficiency" standard. It does have a standard which it calls "career and college readiness." This standard is based on the previous ACT scores for a sample college freshman who receive grades of B or better in freshman English, college algebra, and college biology. When you read the studies ACT used (available on their website) to establish these standards you begin to realize how limited the term "college and career ready" is and how tenuous the ACT score is as a predictor of this standard.
skigrl50
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 2:41 p.m.
It would be interesting to see what the proficiency rate is for students that have been in a particular school district for less than say 2 years, and also the proficiency rates for those eligible for free and reduced lunch.
mgoscottie
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 10:52 a.m.
There were seven mistakes on the science mme this past year before anyone gets bent out of shape by all of the college ready results or anything....
JRW
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 2:19 a.m.
"On the Michigan Merit Exam, the Ann Arbor Public Schools saw a four-year increase in students testing proficient in all subject areas except for math and reading, which both decreased by a percentage point." Math and reading are basic subject areas. Not a good sign that these areas are decreasing in proficiency among AAPS students.
Dog Guy
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 9:20 p.m.
Q: What did partyline politicians get on their high school SAT's and ACT's? A: Drool.
Catasetumkid
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 3:22 p.m.
Well, considering that Phil Pavlov, who happens to be the head of the senate education committee, never graduated from community college - my guess is that "drool" about covers it.
Basic Bob
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 11:13 p.m.
Q: How many boxes can a party line voter check? A: Ask their bus driver.
GoNavy
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 8:28 p.m.
When one considers what it means to be "proficient" here: "The student's performance meets the Michigan Career- and College Readiness Benchmark requirements and indicates understanding and application of key concepts defined for Michigan students. The student needs continued support to maintain and improve proficiency and to be career- and college-ready." ...Is when the cringe factor really gets turned up. I can only imagine how extraordinarily low the bar has been set for "proficiency" here.
ThinkingOne
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 1:22 p.m.
The MMEs and ACTs are given to juniors, so technically then I would expect this statement: 'The student needs continued support to maintain and improve proficiency and to be career- and college-ready.' Juniors are not expected to be career- and college-ready. Rather, the sentence 'The student's performance meets the Michigan Career- and College Readiness Benchmark requirements and indicates understanding and application of key concepts defined for Michigan students.' is the key one. Taken together, it means that the students are on track to meet the standards for career and college, but aren't there yet. It is a reminder that continued support is needed until the end of their high school career. Sort of a warning to the schools that they can't focus on getting everyone ready for junior years tests, then fail them in their senior year. You can debate the standards themselves, but you cannot reasonably infer that these two statements in any way induce a 'cringe factor'.
JRW
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 2:17 a.m.
And yet only 41.3% of AAPS students at Huron met this proficiency.
Jay Thomas
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 7:43 p.m.
They also have a rating for how many (%) of the students are ready for college. In Ann Arbor and Saline it is in the 40's. In Ypsi it was 7% and Willow Run 0%. Apparently nobody is college ready in Willow Run...
Catasetumkid
Tue, Jun 25, 2013 : 3:19 p.m.
"College Ready" is a metric invented by the ACT people. It has nothing to do with whether kids are ready for college or not. For example, my 2 kids were not college ready, neither of them having scored a 24 in Science. Both graduated college without taking any remedial classes. One graduated with high honors from MSU and then completed his graduate degree at UM. So the term "College Ready" is a complete misnomer.
CountyKate
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 7:39 p.m.
I could NOT get the database to work.
Jay Thomas
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 7:57 p.m.
Try this one. No need to enter anything it is all pulldown. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130624/SPECIAL01/130621002
Danielle Arndt
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 7:52 p.m.
CountyKate, the database is not perfect. I would just note that you have to wait a few seconds after typing in the district's name before it populates a drop-down menu for you to select the district you want. You also have to search using the district's complete proper name — so for Ypsilanti Public Schools, for example, you have to search "School District of Ypsilanti" because that is how the state tracks the district.
A2Westsider
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 6:58 p.m.
Faired???
GoNavy
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 : 8:29 p.m.
Note to author: spell check doesn't fix contextual errors.