:Searchable database of test scores at The Columbian datacenter.
Test scores will now play part in teacher, principal evaluations
Public school students’ scores on standardized tests continue to edge up, both in Clark County and statewide. The most consistent gains were in math and science, according to spring 2012 test results released Wednesday.
“Students are continuing to make progress,” said Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public instruction, in a statement. “Science and math scores are up in almost every grade. Those trends are due to the great work that our science and math teachers do every day, and the fact that we have new standards that are clear and address what students need now and in the future.”
:Searchable database of test scores at The Columbian datacenter.
State tests include Measurements of Student Progress for grades 3-8 in reading, writing, math and science; High School Proficiency Exams in reading and writing, and secondary End-of-Course exams in math and biology.
Science and math have been a focus for the state Office of Public Instruction and local schools, as those subjects have been an Achilles’ heel for both the state and nation.
Science
Passing rates in fifth-grade science climbed 10.4 percentage points statewide, from 55.7 percent in 2011 to 66.1 percent in 2012. In eighth-grade science, 61.6 percent passed in 2011, compared with 66.3 percent in 2012.
“This is the second year students have been tested on the new science standards, and what we’re seeing is that students are learning the new standards,” Dorn said in the statement. “I also think schools are placing an increased emphasis on science at the earlier grades, and it’s paying off in test scores.”
Vancouver, the county’s second-largest school district, was a microcosm of the state trend. Mike Stromme, Vancouver’s associate superintendent of teaching and learning, said he was pleased with progress in science scores, a leap of nearly 13 percentage points in the fifth grade and three percentage points in the eighth grade. The district also progressed in math and reading.
New biology exam
As of this year, 10th graders were required to take the biology EOC in place of the science HSPE. About 61 percent passed the new exam. Dorn characterized that passing rate as “encouraging,” given that just 49.9 percent of students passed the former science test, the HSPE, in 2011.
In the county, high school biology passing rates were 59.6 percent in the Battle Ground district, 63.4 percent in Vancouver, 65.1 percent in Ridgefield, 69.5 percent in Evergreen, 72 percent in Washougal, 72.7 percent in Camas, 73.3 percent in Hockinson, and 74.2 percent in La Center.
Bruce Kelley, Battle Ground’s executive director of school improvement, said biology scores need to be higher. But now that schools have a year’s worth of scores, staff can focus on inching up students’ performance in that subject, Kelley said. One drawback of the new test is that it’s limited to biology, he said.