LANSING, Mich. - Students showed slight increases in reading, writing and science scores in the second year of the Michigan Merit Exam, which includes the ACT, but more than half failed the mathematics section, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Sixty-two percent of students passed the reading section, compared to 60 percent last year. In writing, 41 percent of students passed. That is up from 40 percent last year. The passing rate on the science test also increased one percentage point, to 57 percent. Performance in math was stagnant with a 46 percent passing rate. There was a drop in performance on the social studies test; 80 percent of students passed, down from 83 percent last year, the Free Press reported.
The average composite score on the ACT remained the same, at 18.8, according to the Free Press.
"The MME, with the inclusion of the ACT, is a rigorous test and all students have to be prepared with the knowledge to excel," State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said in a statement, according to the Free Press. "As the requirements of the new high school curriculum continue to be implemented, we expect to see students' scores improve."
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "State's reading scores go up, more than half fail math,"
Aug. 7, 2008
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "New high school graduation requirements in
action," May 6, 2008
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