Posted: 7/20/04
Tests will determine progress on ěNo Child Left Behindî law
by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) test scores for 10th-grade reading and 11th-grade math, taken last spring by state high school students, have been released by the Department of Education.
ISD #299 surpassed the state average in both reading and math. The average reading score was 1618.12 compared to the state average of 1586.29 for 10th graders. The average math score for 11th graders in the district was 1557, and the the statewide average was 1545.37.
Although the results, which will be used to judge schoolsí yearly progress under federal No Child Left Behind law, show almost 80 percent of 10th-graders passing reading and 70 percent of 11th-graders passing math, results also show children of color lagging behind.
Only 41 percent of 10th-grade black students passed the reading test compared to 83 percent of white students.
Twenty-eight percent of black students passed the 11th-grade math test while 76 percent of white students passed the test.
Test results for American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic students also significantly lagged behind the results for white students.
Deputy Commissioner Chas Anderson said she did not believe the achievement gap was simply one of school funding.
Itís a complex issue, she explained. The key is helping students early, said Anderson.
The MCA was given last year, but education department officials warn against comparing the results of the two tests as the test has undergone changes.
ěThe normal development process of creating a valid test for the current standards required us to make changes to the 2004 test,î said Tim Vansickle, education department of assessment.
ěThis yearís high school math and reading tests will be a good measure of the progress schools are making towards the goals of No Child Left Behind,î he said.
The 2004 MCA results will be used as a baseline to determine whether high schools are making sufficient yearly progress.
The department of education has had $112,000 in federal funding withheld by U.S. Department of Education after the feds rejected an earlier waiver concerning how the state measured yearly progress in high schools, Anderson explained.
The noncompliance fine is ongoing, but department of education officials believe federal officials will look favorably on current state testing and rule Minnesota in compliance.
Report cards on Minnesota schools, which will incorporate the No Child Left Behind yearly progress report, is scheduled to be released on Aug. 26 at the state fair, said Bill Walsh, education department spokesperson.
Until the release, No Child Left Behind yearly progress data is private.
On July 15, school districts received their No Child yearly progress reports.
They have 30 days under the law to contest the findings.
Last year, some 15,000 to 20,000 individual bits of information required changing, though education department official do not expect such a revamping this year, said Walsh.
ěThe stakes are too high,î he said.
Itís hoped all contested information can be resolved during the 30 day period, said Walsh.
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