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 High
School MEAP Test Scored Improve Across-The-Board
Michigan Department of Education, October 14, 2004
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LANSING – State
assessment scores for the Michigan high school Class of 2004
improved across-the-board.
The numbers of 2004 graduates who met or exceeded state
standards for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)
high school test increased in all five testing areas: Reading,
Mathematics, Science, Writing, and Social Studies.
"These results show that we're on the right track," said
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, "but we need to keep working hard
to help all of our students master the skills they need to get
jobs in today's economy."
The most dramatic MEAP increase came in the Reading test scores,
which jumped by nearly 10 percentage points. The number of
students who met or exceeded state reading standards increased
from 68,198 (66.8 percent) for the Class of 2003 to 80,214 (76.2
percent) for the Class of 2004.
Just as remarkable was the drop in the number of students who
scored in the lowest band, or “not endorsed” category, on the
Reading test. Some 10,004 students (9.5 percent) of the 105,236
test takers scored in this band, compared to 20,893 (20.5
percent) from the previous class.
“This is a very promising sign,” said State Board of Education
President Kathleen N. Straus. “But we cannot diminish the
importance of getting every student to meet our Reading
standards. That is the goal of the Governor, State Board of
Education, and the Michigan Department of Education.”
A record number of high school students from the Class of 2004
took the MEAP tests, averaging 105,006 students for the Reading,
Mathematics, and Science tests. That bested the Class of 2003’s
average participation rate of 102,383 students. The number of
students taking the Social Studies test increased by nearly
5,000 (102,943).
“It is obvious that the hard work by our teachers and
administrators and commitment to learning by our students are
the catalysts to these gains,” state Superintendent of Public
Instruction Tom Watkins said.
“While everyone can take pride in the gains, we need to redouble
our efforts on all counts,” Watkins added. “While our students
are making progress, we cannot rest until they all have the
knowledge and skills to thrive in the 21st Century knowledge
economy.”
The number of students who met or exceeded state standards for
Mathematics increased from 61,592 for the Class of 2003 to
62,109 for 2004; from 62,419 to 66,901 in Science; from 60,066
to 60,979 in Writing; and from 25,094 to 36,026 in Social
Studies.
Despite the moderate number of students achieving well on the
Social Studies test, the number who scored in the top band
(exceeded standards) jumped from 732 in 2003 to 1,950 in 2004.
Likewise, the number who scored in the lowest band (not
endorsed) dropped from 41,656 to 37,682.
“This, too, is encouraging,” Straus noted. “Our schools
certainly are headed in the right direction. We are not there
yet, but we will be reviewing later this year plans to help get
more students meeting the state standards in Social Studies.”
A special task force was commissioned by the State Board of
Education in May 2004 to study the issue of student performance
on the Social Studies MEAP test, and to make recommendations to
the State Board of Education on steps that need to be taken to
improve student performance.
The Social Studies Task Force, consisting of Social Studies
experts from around the state, held public hearings throughout
Michigan during the summer. The department will propose to the
State Board later this year specific plans to implement the Task
Force recommendations.
Summary Reports for each of the state’s public school districts
and both public and non-public high schools have been posted on
the Michigan Department of Education web site. You can access
that information by logging on to
www.michigan.gov/mde.
The MEAP web page includes Class of 2004 statewide results data;
school district and building data; and Frequently Asked
Questions. For details on the High School Class of 2004 MEAP
results, link to this
website:
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-22709_31168_31175---,00.html.
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