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Absences
May Hurt MEAP Scores
Students get zero if they miss test, don't make it up.
Lansing State Journal, February 20, 2003
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www.bridges4kids.org.
School officials in Lansing and across Michigan will try to
take advantage of an extra week they have been given to test
students who recently were absent during the days set aside
for MEAP testing.
That's because they found out just last week that any student
who fails to take the Michigan Educational Assessment Program
test could be counted as having scored a zero, which could
lower a school's overall score.
School districts worried their scores could be lowered when
gauged by state and federal governments. The federal No Child
Left Behind Act requires that at least 95 percent of a
district's students take standardized tests.
In the Lansing School District, about 40 students in
elementary school and about 20 middle school students will
make up the test this week because they were absent during the
testing period.
"It's not a huge impact," said Mark Mayes, spokesman for the
17,300-student district. "But since we did have this
opportunity to extend the period, we wanted each and every one
of the students to take the full test."
But in Holt, officials said they were notified too late to
take advantage of the extra time.
Valerie Smith, director of instructional services for Holt
Public Schools, said all MEAP tests were turned into her
office last Wednesday, and the district wasn't notified of the
change until late Thursday afternoon.
"I had them bundled and ready to go on Thursday," Smith said.
"It's too bad it happened this way. Some of our kids were sick
when they took it and I'm sure it will be reflected in our
scores."
Some administrators expressed concern that the No Child Left
Behind legislation appears to suggest that scores for all
students could be included when determining whether a school
has met state and federal goals.
So, whenever a student is absent - even because of a lengthy
illness - he or she could be counted as having scored a zero
on the MEAP test.
T.J. Bucholz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of
Education, said schools were warned of that possibility last
week, though "we're still waiting to get a final determination
on that issue."
School administrators said if enough students miss class in
one school, that could affect how students are rated through
Michigan's accreditation system, Education Yes!, and whether
the schools meet stringent federal accountability
requirements. Some could be deemed to be failing.
Giving children with serious illnesses an automatic test score
of zero "is unfortunate," said Bob Greene, director of
evaluation and research for the Troy School District.
"It puts a lot of pressure on kids and on schools," he said.
Gerald Stinnett, superintendent of Williamston Community
Schools, said he didn't know about the extra time until
Wednesday.
"It doesn't seem to be important at this point," Stinnett
said. "We didn't receive any faxes, e-mails or phone calls."
Stinnett said he's not sure if the district needed the extra
time anyway because he hadn't heard of many absences during
the testing period.
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