Educators and school administrators have always used results from the Michigan Education Assessment Program test as a benchmark for how well students in this state are being taught.
Now as part of the federal government’s No Child Left Behind mandate, MEAP scores are being used for the Adequate Yearly Progress and Ed YES! programs.
According to Ernie Bauer of Oakland Schools, AYP sets a threshold which schools and districts must meet to avoid being “identified for improvement.”
If a school doesn’t make the threshold for two years, it’s an indication improvement is needed.
“Benchmarks go up every three years. Every student by 2013-2014 must be proficient in subjects such as reading, math, English language arts, social science,” LO Assistant Superintendent Dave Beiter said.
“The guidelines tell us we have to educate the whole child. This ensures every student learns the concept of a course.”
Ninety five percent of students must be tested in each school or the school doesn’t make AYP regardless of how well the students do on the test.
And that includes 5 percent of special education students, Beiter said.
Michigan also plans on issuing a grade (Ed YES!) for each school building in the state and MEAP scores account for two thirds of the report card.
One third of the report card will be based on how high a school’s scores are, Bauer said. One third of the report card grade will be based on the improvements the scores have shown over the past five years.
The other third will be based on self-reported “school performance indicators.”
This looks at such things as teacher quality, extending learning opportunities, curriculum alignment, family involvement and four year education and employment plan.
“This raises the standards of schools and gets parents involved,” Beiter said.
“When we get all the scores, they’ll go to the parents. It’s a good way to get parents informed. It’s important for parents to participate, become actively involved.”
Beiter said he’s happy with Lake Orion’s MEAP scores. “We’re showing improvement and our quality of teachers is starting to have an impact. Our scores were well above adequate.”
What he’s disappointed about is the late arrival of the test results. “We should have had them in April (the test was taken in January and February) so teachers can make plans throughout the summer. Instead, we’re getting them in October, already one fourth of the way into the school year,” he added.
The report received by the school district has also