The latest results of the Missouri Assessment Program tests for Joplin and other districts were mixed, according to figures released last week by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The results of the annual MAP tests in communication arts and math are used by the state, district officials and parents to help assess school district performance. They also are used in determining accreditation status.

Students are grouped into one of four categories: “Below Basic,” “Basic,” “Proficient” and “Advanced” based on their scores.

MAP tests are administered to students from the third grade through high school each spring.

Overall, Joplin dropped in 11 categories, but reported improvements in seven areas.

In English I at Joplin High School, for example, 55.8 percent of students scored proficient or above, up from 53.2 percent in 2011. However in English II, the percentage of students who scored proficient or above slipped, going from 67.6 percent in 2011 to 61 percent in 2012. In 2010, 72.5 percent of students scored proficient or above in that subject at that grade level.

In Algebra I and II at the high school level, scores dropped from 2011, but geometry scores rose.

The percentage of students who scored proficient or above in Algebra I this year was 39.1 percent, down from 51.2 percent last year. In Algebra II, 52.9 percent of students scored proficient or above compared with 66.5 percent last year. In Geometry, the percentage of students who scored proficient or above increased by nearly 10 points from 54.8 percent last year to 64 percent in 2012.

Both Joplin High School Principal Kerry Sachetta and Superintendent C.J. Huff said the May 22, 2011, tornado and the transitions it caused for students, parents, teachers and the district as a whole affected tests results, but said there was no way they could determine just how much of an impact it had.

Joplin students in elementary and middle school grades reported mixed results in communication arts compared with last year, with some grades slightly improving and others slightly decreasing in the percentage of students who scored proficient or above.

Third-graders continued to show decreases in mathematics for the third year in a row, while seventh-graders showed improvements in communication skills for the third year in a row.

In the spring of 2012, 42.4 percent of third graders were proficient or above in mathematics for their level, compared with 45.4 percent in 2011 and 50.5 percent in 2010.

And last spring, 53.5 percent of seventh-grade students were proficient or better in communication arts, up from 52.7 percent a year earlier and 51.3 percent in 2010.

“Every year we have mixed results,” said Huff, but this year presented new challenges as students had to adjust to temporary schools in new settings, different schedules and other changes as a result of the tornado.

“The focus this year was meeting the mental health needs of kids,” Huff said. “Kids missed a lot of class time this year for personal and family issues related to the storm, and we’ve implemented new curriculum.”

Huff said the district adopted a new math curriculum last year in a direct response to some decreases in math they have been tracking over the past several years.

“The new curriculum we’re using is research-based and there’s no reason scores shouldn’t improve as a direct result as long as we provide the training to staff,” Huff said. “On basic skills concepts, kids perform well but it’s the synthesizing and problem-solving areas where we need to do more work.”



CARL JUNCTION

Carl Junction School District officials were pleased with the overall results, said Kathy Tackett, assistant superintendent.

In high school communication arts, English I, 60.2 percent of the students were proficient or advanced on the MAP, down from 64.5 percent in 2011, but comparable to the 60.3 percent reported in 2010. However, the district showed improvement at the English II level, going from 74.8 percent in 2011 to 78.8 percent in 2012. The district hit 80.1 percent at the level in 2010.

Also at the high school level, Algebra I and Geometry students showed improvements, but Algebra II students slipped.

In Geometry, 65.7 percent of students were proficient or better, compared with 57 percent in 2011. In Algebra I, it was 62 percent who were in the top two categories, compared with 54.6 percent a year earlier. But Algebra II saw a drop, from 72.7 percent in 2011 to 66.9 percent in 2012.

Eighth-grade communication arts saw a more than 10 percent increase in the number of students or scored proficient or better, rising from 49.4 to 59.6 percent.

“The teachers have been working so hard every year together to improve those scores and the kids did better this year,” Tackett said.  

Tackett said some of the areas they are focusing on to increase scores are in communication arts among sixth- and seventh-grade students, which had mixed results this year.



CARTHAGE

Carthage saw significant increases in Geometry and Algebra II in the past three years, which Deborah Swarens, assistant superintendent for instruction, attributed to changing the order in which students take certain courses. Two years ago, the district changed from having students take Algebra I, Geometry and then Algebra II to taking Algebra I, Algebra II and then Geometry.

“It has taken two testing cycles to see the impact that has had on students and scores,” Swarens said.

In 2012, 76.9 percent of the Geometry students were proficient or above, compared with 45.5 percent in 2011 and 63.9 percent in 2010.

Of the Algebra II students, 66.2 percent were proficient or advanced, compared with 61.8 percent a year earlier and 42.6 percent in 2010.

But Algebra I students went from 70.9 percent in 2011 to 60.2 percent in 2012 and 67.5 percent in 2010.

Swarens said they have not yet pinpointed why Algebra I scores slipped this year.

The district also saw drops in high school English scores.

In English II, 69.7 percent of students were proficient or better, compared with 78.2 percent last year. English I students slipped from 62.2 percent proficient or better last year to 60.5 percent in that category in 2012, but both were up from the 55.6 percent level in 2010.

Swarens said that while some areas slipped, school officials are pleased with the overall results and have seen steady improvement since 2008. She said they were especially happy with the increases in scores from English Language Learners this year.

“Our students are showing us in every grade level they’re making progress. It may not have been a grade level’s highest year on the MAP but over time they are making progress and gaining skills,” Swarens said.



NEOSHO

The Neosho district saw mixed results on the tests, with significant gains in some grades but drops in others.

At the high school level, the district reported an improvement in Geometry and Algebra II, but slipped in Algebra I.

More than 71.5 percent of the Geometry students were proficient or above, compared with 43.3 percent in 2011, and 59.9 percent in 2010.

And 74 percent of the Algebra II students were in the top two categories, compared with 54.6 percent in 2011 and 45.4 percent in 2010.

In Algebra I, however, only 56.8 percent of students were proficient or advanced, down from 68.8 a year ago, but comparable to the 56.6 percent reported in 2010.

The district also showed significant gains in fifth-grade and seventh-grade math and fifth-grade communication arts.

Fifth-graders showed gains of 10 percent over last year in communication arts; 55.7 percent of students scored at proficient or above compared with 45.7 last year. In math, 66.4 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or above, compared with 45.5 percent in 2011.

In math, 72.2 percent of seventh-graders scored proficient or higher, compared with 59 percent in 2011 and 62.6 percent in 2010.

However, the district saw a significant slip in third-grade communication arts and math from the past two years. This year, 37.9 percent of third-graders scored proficient or better in communication arts. That compares to 50 percent in 2011 and 50.2 percent in 2010.

In mathematics, third-graders also saw a significant decrease from the past two years. In 2012, 45.3 percent of students scored proficient or higher, compared with 62.2 percent in 2011 and 61.3 percent in 2010. Administrators said they believe the decrease is because that grade is new to standardized testing.

“With every new group of third-graders, it’s their first exposure to the MAP and high stakes testing with writing integrated into their answers,” said Glenda Condict, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. “Each year it’s a new experience. The curriculum has been consistent and administrators at all levels are very focused on expectations and constantly emphasize the strategies expected from MAP testing.”



WEBB CITY

Superintendent Anthony Rossetti said the district is pleased with its results from the 2012 testing.

“They are mixed with as many pluses and minuses in some areas, but I don’t think there were any significant decreases,” Rossetti said.

At the high school level, 79.8 percent of the English II students were proficient or above, compared with 82 percent in 2011 and 89.8 percent in 2010.

No Geometry or Algebra II results were included with the 2012 MAP data, as some of those tests were optional, but the district reported that 65.8 percent of students were proficient or above in Algebra I, compared with 77.6 percent in 2011 and 77.5 percent in 2010.

The district saw some of its most dramatic improvements in third- and sixth-grade math. In third-grade math, 70.3 percent of students scored proficient or above, compared with 63.8 percent last year. In sixth-grade math, 70.7 percent of students scored proficient or above compared with 61.7 percent last year.





State results

Missouri Assessment Program test results for the 2011-2012 school year show the number of students scoring at the “proficient” or “advanced” levels continued to improve statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Overall, students improved from 54.6 to 55 percent proficient or advanced in Communication Arts and from 54.3 to 55 percent in Math.

“We are pleased with the progress students and schools are making,” Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro said in a statement. “We know our kids can perform at higher levels. With continued effort, we can and will reach the top 10 performing states in education by 2020.”

To learn about MAP results for your school and other district data, go to dese.mo.gov.