DETROIT — Reading scores were down and math scores were up on state test results released Thursday, but this might be the last good news about the Michigan Education Assessment Program for the near future, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Next year, students will have to earn significantly higher scores in order to “pass” the test, which likely will drive down state averages, according to the Free Press. Education officials say the higher bar is necessary to determine whether students are ready for college and careers, the Free Press reported.
Statewide, 95 percent of third-graders passed the math exam, 92 percent of fourth-graders, 80 percent of fifth-graders, 85 percent of sixth-graders, 85 percent of seventh-graders and 78 percent of eighth-graders, the Free Press reported. Those scores were higher than a year ago.
In reading, 87 percent of third-graders passed, 84 percent of fourth-graders, 85 percent of fifth-graders, 84 percent of sixth-graders, 79 percent of seventh-graders and 82 percent of eighth-graders. Reading results are down from last year, according to the report.
A Michigan Department of Education analysis showed that the achievement gap in math between white and minority students statewide decreased by 12 to 14 percentage points from 2005 to 2010, the Free Press reported. A number of Detroit metro districts also have seen reduced gaps over those years, according to the report.
SOURCE:
The Detroit Free Press, “Most kids pass the MEAP — but that’s about to get harder,” April 1, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “What MEAP Scores Mean,” March 22, 2010
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