The school year has begun, and it is off to a great start. The first couple of weeks always give you a feel for what the rest of the school year is going to be like, and this year feels great. With only a couple of new teachers this year, it feels like we have been able to pick up where we left off this past spring. Many of the interventions and hard work of our staff has certainly been shown in the release of our MCA results. The score of an MCA test is a number that is associated with a student, that documents how well they did on that test on that one day in time. There are a variety of things that can influence that score, and we do our best to try to make sure that students put away any anxiety or distractions, but the reality is that some days students do not do their best, while others may have their best day ever. It is a measure from one point of time that we use in conjunction with a variety of other tools to best determine how well a student is learning. We don’t entirely rely on one score to tell us how well a student is doing in school. Focusing on each individual student, and how they are doing and what they need to improve is what is most important when it comes to learning because students all have different needs, and they are so much more than a test score!
Success can certainly be measured in the number of students that pass an exam, and then compare that percentage to the percentage of another school. I can remember a time when the scores from our district didn’t look very good when compared to some of the surrounding districts, that simply isn’t the case anymore. Not only are we competing for the top scores we are seeing growth scores from students that are amazing. I know that these scores are often used to measure the “success” of a school for those that want to simplify learning into a competition like a football game. Only that use of test scores totally misses the true importance of a score. These types of comparison lack many important details that don’t show up on a test score. Over the years our district has continued to improve in our overall scores, but the way we are doing it is the most important part of the story. We are helping students improve and seeing growth from students that is off the charts and that is something to celebrate.
The first digit in an MCA test score refers to the grade level of the exam. So, a 300-test score would be for a third-grade student. These tests begin at the third-grade level and continue all the way up to 1100 for Juniors that take the math exam. In grades 3-8 the students take the math and reading exams. They take the science exams in 5th, 8th and 10th grades. The high school students take the reading exams in 10th grade and the math exams in 11th grade. The tests are different from grade to grade, so it is tricky to compare a 3rd grade score to a 4th grade score based on the final score. They are different tests measuring each grade levels standards. The scores are broken down into one of four categories, does not meet, partially meets, meets and exceeds standards.
An example of a score that I am very happy with is our 10th grade science students. Even though the score that they obtained was lower than it has been in the past few years, for this group of students, there was a 33% increase in the number of students that were proficient compared to the last time they took the test in 8th grade. Another example of growth that is something to celebrate is when a student may jump a level from one year to the next. For example, a student score “does not meet” one year and ends up in the “meets standards” the next year. Or a student that goes from “partially meets” to “exceeds standards” in one year. While the data on individual students is private data, when you see the growth that students are making in your district, it is worth noting that our students are doing great things.
Please reach out to me with any questions that you may have regarding our school district. You can email me at schlich@triton.k12.mn.us or you can call me at 507-418-7530 to reach me at the district office. I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you or your organization. Communication is an important aspect of my job responsibility, and I welcome the opportunity to gain experience from your perspective. GO COBRAS!
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