For the annual No Child Left Behind report, my school met the requirements for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)(New Jersey Department of Education, 2010). In Language Arts percentage of students who proved proficiency raised a little over three percent to 59.1%, meeting the required AYP requirement (NJDE, 2010). Though percentage of students who tested proficient in math raised almost ten percent to 57.6%, this does not meet the AYP requirement of sixty-six percent (NJDE, 2010).
Students of my school show high scores for the National Assessment Educational Progress report with student percentages above national averages for fourth grade reading proficiency percentages (NJDE, 2010). This report is also based on numerical percentage, with 100% being the entire population and placed on a scale from Below Basic, Basic, Proficient and Advanced (NJDE, 2010).
The New Jersey Department of Education provides a school report card for each school in New Jersey . Information is presented in numerical percentages, with 100% being whole student population. Student ability is reported in three categories, Partial Proficiency (PP), Proficient (P) and Advanced Proficient (AP). To protect possible identification of students through demographic information New Jersey does not publicly report test scores in specific areas such as gender, race, and ethnic identity (NJDE, 2010). In the areas of Math and Language Arts Literacy the state publishes percentages for students in grades third through sixth. Science is reported in grade four, which for our school is one class of students.
Third graders who scored proficient in Language Arts increased by almost six percent from the 2008-2009, 2009-2010 school year (NJDE, 2010). However students testing PP increased by four percent and AP dropped by nine (NJDE, 2010). Math scores showed the same pattern with PP increasing from 4.2 % to 35.3% and AP decreasing from 45.8% to 11.8% (NJDE, 2010). With only one third grade class in the school, these gaps in percentages shows a strong contrast between the two classes.
The group of students who showed 4.2% of partial proficiency in Math for their third grade year increased to 9.5% in fourth grade, but continued to show strength in proficient and advanced proficiency set skills (NJDE, 2010). Fourth grade skills in Language Arts remains average with 66.7% showing proficient and 14.3% showing advanced (NJDE, 2010). In the area of science, which only represents one class of students partial proficiency scores have decreased, proficient scores increased by five percent and advanced decreased by almost two percent (NJDE, 2010). The variables in this data, because the test is taken on one grade level, could speak to the students interest levels in the class and teacher variation in curriculum instruction or test reinforcement. Personally speaking, I am the fourth grade science teacher and it is good to see these scores. Perhaps me starting to review materials earlier and a change in both third grade teachers this particular year had an effect.
For the fifth grade test scores between the 2008-2009, 2009-2010 scores were noticeable in Language Arts Literacy proficiency (raising almost 10%) and AP dropping almost thirteen percent (NJDE, 2010). The same trend happened in Math with proficiency percentage slightly rising but AP dropping almost ten percent (NJDE, 2010).
For the sixth grade portion of the NJ ASK, again, the significant percentage was gained with students demonstrating proficient skills and AP skill increasing by almost ten percent in Language Arts Literacy (NJDE, 2010). However in Math PP scores raised by 18%, Proficient dropping by 30% and AP skills set increasing from zero to eleven percent (NJDE, 2010).
From a person who works in the building, I do know that the test provider has changed over the years. There was also some odd scoring from the state and they added points to student scores after it was graded because of admitted mistakes. Preparation for the test is changing due to former administration not informing staff in state provided training sessions related to student performance and grading of NJ ASK tests. It was not until this year that these information sessions were attended by faculty in grades three through six. Whether or not this has an impact on student achievement can be determined until this year’s test scores are released in August.
The information missing from the report card percentages in the aesthetic, human aspect of our building. Though class sizes are increasing, teachers and support staff work hard to make sure each child is spoken to and needs are met. Students are very nurtured because of the small school environment. I do believe that some student needs could be improved by more small group instruction within larger classes;allowing lower levels to be attended to and high order thinkers appropriate challenges. Our school and community is known for taking on challenges but not change. This is slowly improving and will hopefully continue to happen as more professional development is implemented. For example, looking at the percentages presented in the scores, the third grade group that tested in the 2008-2009 school year decreased in partial proficiency but also dropped in showing advanced proficiency (NJDE, 2010). Clearly we attended to the students that needed assistance but could have done more for those who showed they could be challenged. I would ask how the test changed from one grade to the next.
Source:
New Jersey Department of Education (2010) New Jersey Department of Education School Report Card 2009-2010 Retrieved June 5, 2011 from http://bit.ly/mmzVUG
