Ferndale MEAP Scores for 2011 Show Improvement in Some Areas

The 2011 MEAP scores released today by the Michigan Department of Education showed areas of improvement and decline for Ferndale students.

Barbara Evoe, executive director of curriculum and instruction for Ferndale Public Schools, said Ferndale Schools students performed at a higher proficiency than last year, except for a few subgroups.

“These areas will be targeted in the coming year,” she wrote in an email Wednesday.

Ferndale students showed an increase from 2010 scores in areas such as fourth and sixth grade reading, and declines in areas including fourth grade math and fifth grade science.

Districtwide numbers show Ferndale Schools slightly below state averages in most areas but above state average in sixth grade math scores, where 40.3 percent of Ferndale students scored proficient or above compared with the statewide average of 37.1 percent.

Across the state, Michigan students saw positive gains on the MEAP compared with the previous year, a report from the Michigan Department of Education stated Wednesday.

During the MEAP exam, which students took in October 2011, students in grades 3-9 were tested in math, reading, writing, social studies and/or science depending on the grade level.

New scoring system

All of the results reflect new "cut scores" — the passing scores that distinguish between whether a student is advanced, proficient, partially proficient or not proficient in certain subjects — adopted by the State Board of Education in September.

With the more rigorous cut scores, students need to get roughly 65 percent of the answers correct to be judged proficient, instead of the previous benchmark of only 39 percent.

According to the state report, statewide reading and mathematics scores saw positive gains compared to the previous year. Reading saw an average three-percent increase in the percentage of students being proficient; and mathematics saw an average one-percent increase.

When broken out by grade, all grades statewide saw an increase in mathematics, and all saw an increase in reading except grade three, which had a decrease of less than one percent.

"We have a lot of room to grow, but this is a positive step," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. "I am very confident that we have professionals in our classrooms who will continue to step up to the challenge of preparing our students to achieve at higher levels."

MEAP reading

Here's a look, grade by grade, at the percentage of students proficient in the reading portion of the test.

Grade

2011

2010 (adjusted)

Ferndale

3

55.6

59.4

Michigan

3

62.4

63.2

Ferndale

4

60.8

57.1

Michigan

4

67.7

63.5

Ferndale

5

63

57.7

Michigan

5

68.8

65.3

Ferndale

6

66

55.4

Michigan

6

67

63.2

Ferndale

7

42.1

43.2

Michigan

7

59.7

55.6

Ferndale

8

56.6

50.9

Michigan

8

60.5

56

MEAP math

Here's a look, grade by grade, at the percentage of students proficient in the math portion of the test.

Grade

2011

2010 (adjusted)

Ferndale

3

35.6

29.6

Michigan

3

36.3

34.9

Ferndale

4

29.6

35.1

Michigan

4

39.9

39.6

Ferndale

5

38.1

35.8

Michigan

5

39.6

38.5

Ferndale

6

40.3

37.1

Michigan

6

37.1

36.2

Ferndale

7

20.5

27.3

Michigan

7

37.2

35.9

Ferndale

8

19.4

22.5

Michigan

8

29.4

28.9

MEAP writing

Here's a look, grade by grade, at the percentage of students proficient in the writing portion of the test.

Grade

2011

2010 (adjusted)

Ferndale

4

42.5

37.6

Michigan

4

44.5

47.2

Ferndale

7

30.5

35.8

Michigan

7

47.3

47.8

MEAP science

Here's a look, grade by grade, at the percentage of students proficient in the science portion of the test.

Grade

2011

2010 (adjusted)

Ferndale

5

9.6

14.2

Michigan

5

15.3

17.4

Ferndale

8

6.1

6.9

Michigan

8

16.5

14.9

MEAP social studies

Here's a look, grade by grade, at the percentage of students proficient in the social studies portion of the test.

Grade

2011

2010 (adjusted)

Ferndale

6

22.3

13.1

Michigan

6

27.7

28.1

Ferndale

9

11.8

14.5

Michigan

9

28.7

33.2