Schools
2011 Test Scores a Mixed Bag for Inver Grove Heights Students
The Minnesota Department of Education released its 2011 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test scores on Tuesday.
Big gains and—in some places—big losses.
That may be the best way to describe the 2011 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results for Inver Grove Heights schools. The assessments are given annually and measure students' understanding of the relevant math and reading curriculum through their respective grades.
Test results for some grades swung widely compared to last year's numbers. Take, for example, , where the percentage of fifth-grade students who tested proficient on the MCA II reading exam rose from 72.1 percent last year to roughly 87 percent this year. If that wasn't enough, the percentage of third-graders at passing the MCA III math exam jumped more than 20 percent over last year.
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But many of the increases were matched by substantial slides, according to the 2011 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results released on Tuesday morning by the Minnesota Department of Education.
The number of students demonstrating proficiency on the MCA III math test fell substantially at all three grade levels, compared to their results on the MCA II in 2010. Of the three grades housed at the middle school, the sixth-grade scores showed the largest decrease. Last year, just over 60 percent of students passed the test, compared to only 42.8 percent of students this year.
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Some of that instability can be attributed to the new math assessments the state rolled out this spring, Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Casellius wrote in a press release. For the first time, students in third- through eighth-grade took the MCA III math test—a new, more rigorous assessment designed to measure a student's grasp of more difficult content.
“We continue to set the bar high for Minnesota students with tougher new standards, and to improve the ways in which we help children master them,” Cassellius said. “However, these results also show us we have some work to do to ensure all of our kids are well prepared for success in a competitive global economy.”
Although test results among black, Latino, Asian and Native American students improved, their scores continue to lag behind those of their white counterparts, according to data released by the Department of Education.
“We continue to see a persistent disparity in achievement between students of color, students in poverty and their white counterparts,” Cassellius wrote in the release. “This achievement gap reinforces the urgent need to focus time, attention and resources to making sure all children achieve at high levels."
The release of AYP reports are currently on hold pending the U.S. Department of Education’s ruling on Minnesota’s No Child Left Behind waiver request, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
For more information regarding the performance of Inver Grove Heights students on the MCA math and reading tests, check out the tables below.
MCA-II/III Math Results*
School Grade D P M E 2011Proficiency 2011
State 2010
Proficiency 2010
State Simley
11 24.5 20 27 27.5 54.5 48.6 48.1 43.2
IGH Middle School
8 17.8 28.5 28.1 25.6 53.7 53.2 58.3 58.5
7 16.8 25.2 32.3 25.8 58.1 51.7 69.4 64.4
6 26.6 30.6 26.2 16.6 42.8 50.3 60.1 68.9
Atheneum 5 0 7.1 39.3
53.6
92.9
53.6 100
68.6
4 0 0 9.1 90.9
100 67.2 100 77
3 0 0 11.5 88.5 100 70.1 100
82.8
Hilltop 5 13.9 20 41.7 24.3 66 53.6 53.1
68.6
4 13.5 20.2
42.3 24 66.3 67.2 76.1
77
3 14.7
13.8 50.5 21.1 71.6
70.1 77.9
82.8 Pine Bend 5 12.3 16 55.6 16 71.6 53.6 80
68.6
4 10 10 36.3 43.8 80.1 67.2 77.7 77
3 6.7 14.4 37.8 41.1 78.9 70.1 77.2 82.8 Salem Hills 5 15.4
30.8 28.8 25 53.8 53.6 63.4 68.6
4 28.8 13.5 42.3 15.4
57.7 67.2 60.4 77
3 7 15.8 49.1 28.1 77.2 70.1 57.2 82.8
MCA-II Reading Results*
Proficiency 2011
State 2010
Proficiency
2010
State Simley 10
7.5
18.4
42.7
31.4
74.1
75.3 75.6
75.3 IGH Middle School
8
11.5
26.2
27
35.2
62.2
68.1 55.5
68.1
7
5.8
19.2
31.9
43.1
75
69.6 66.2
66.1
6
7.3
18.2
30.2
44.4
74.6
75.1 69.9
71.7
Atheneum 5
0
0
7.1
92.9
100
80.3 100
76
4
0
0
6.1
93.9
100
75.2 100
72.5
3
0
0
0
100
100
74.4 97.4
76.3 Hilltop 5
2.7 10 35.5 51.8 87.3 80.3 72.1
76.4
4 10.6 21.2 41.3 26.9 68.2 75.2 53.2
72.5
3
9.9 15.3 27.9 46.8 74.7 78.5 71.4
76.3 Pine Bend
5 5.1 6.3 30.4 58.2 88.6 80.3 85.9
76.4
4 7.5 12.5 31.3 48.8 75.2 75.2 76.7
72.5
3 4.4 9.9 23.1 62.6 85.7 78.5 69.2
76.3 Salem Hills 5 9.4 5.7 32.1 52.8 84.9 80.3 75
76.4
4 24.5 15.1 39.6 20.8 60.4 75.2 67.3
72.5
3 12.3 12.3 24.6 50.9
75.5 78.5 60.7
76.3
Key
D=Did not meet expectations; P=Partially meets expectations; M=Meets expectations; E=Exceeds expectations
*Data courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Education
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