York Town News
York schools making the grade with latest round of MEAs
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - The results are in, and just like a parent beaming over that first shining report card, York School Department officials have much to be happy about with the local performance in the redesigned Maine Educational Assessment.In fact, York's students met the standards in every grade level and every test taken across the board in the MEAs, which measure the achievement of all students in reading and mathematics in grades 3 through 8 and, at grades 4 and 8, science/technology as well.
According to Maine Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, this year's results will serve as baseline data for the new comprehensive testing system and, therefore, cannot be compared with tests taken in past years.
For York, though, the news is overwhelmingly positive.
"Our preliminary review of our MEA scores indicates that at every grade level in all subject areas tested, York exceeded the State average," Curriculum Coordinator Dr. Maryann Minard said Monday evening. "With the recent state efforts to establish new standards for student achievement on the MEA, we are pleased to see that in 2006, under this revised system, the percentage of York students meeting or exceeding the standards continues to be a positive trend."
At York Middle School, the school scores in grade 8 were 850 for reading, 852 for math and 852 for science, meeting the MEA standards in all subjects as the range to meet the standards includes scores of 841 to 860.
The average score for all eighth-graders in Maine was 845 in reading, 840 in math and 846 in science.
In grade 7, York's scores were 746 in reading and math, also meeting the expectations by falling within the range of 741 to 760 and exceeding the state score of 745 in reading and 740 in math.
York's grade 6 scores were 645 in reading and math, with the range to meet the standards of 641 to 660. The state score was 644 in reading and 641 in math.
Grade 5 scores were 546 in reading and 553 in math, with a range of 541 to 560 to meet the standards. The state score was 544 in reading and 543 in math.
At Coastal Ridge Elementary School, the results for testing of York's grade 3 and 4 students were equally strong.
Grade 4 scores were 448 in reading, 451 in math and 449 in science, with a range of 441 to 460 to meet the expectations in all subjects. York exceeded the state average scores of 444 in all three subjects.
York's grade 3 scores averaged out to be 348 in reading and 350 in math with a range of 341 to 360 to meet the expectations in all subjects. The state averages were 345 in reading and 344 in math.
"The consistency of student scores across all grade levels tested points to the value of having a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, aligned to the Maine Learning Results," Minard said. "It also reflects the fact that our students take these assessments seriously, and that our faculty and staff are providing high quality instruction on a daily basis."
Minard said that during the School Department's Administrative Team day-long retreat, to be held today, Wednesday, Aug. 16, administrators and School Committee members were planning to delve into the results and analyze both the MEA results and the recent scores on the national Terra Nova achievement test.
"The data will be used when making curricular and instructional revisions. While our scores are generally strong, some areas that we continue to pay careful attention to are gender differences in student achievement, the achievement of our identified special needs students and the number of students exceeding, as well as not meeting, the standard in each area tested," Minard said.
Across all grades, according to the Maine Department of Education, "a greater percentage of females than males met proficiency in reading, which is consistent with past performance and national trends. There were no significant differences in the numbers of students meeting proficiency in mathematics or science based on gender."
The Maine Department of Education also reports a dip in math performance statewide at the middle school level that is consistent with national indicators.
"We are still awaiting the state notification on Adequate Yearly Progress, required under the No Child Left Behind mandate," Minard said of the York School Department. "MEA scores are used to determine if students in subcategories including socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender and identified disabilities have shown sufficient gains."
According to the Department of Education, the No Child Left Behind Act requires that at least 95 percent of all students in grades 3 through 8 take part in the MEA.
"In Maine, fully 99 percent of students took part at each grade and in each subject," the announcement of the MEA results states.
One challenge, Minard pointed out, is that such indicators as the MEA and Terra Nova scores are only two ways to gauge student achievement.
"When we look at this information, along with data on the York graduation rate, post-secondary education enrollment, attendance, discipline records and our own locally developed assessments, we are able to see more clearly York Schools' strengths and needs," she said. "On the most recent MEAs, it appears that our strengths overall have been recognized at the state level."
For more on what is happening at the York School Department in preparation for the academic year ahead, see the Aug. 23 "Back to School" edition of The Independent.
