July 14, 2006

LANSING –State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan today called the latest round of MEAP scores for Michigan high school students fresh evidence that the recently-adopted core curriculum for Michigan high schools is critical to the state’s future.

Results of the scores for the high school graduating Class of 2006 on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests showed decreases in all but one of the five assessments

“It’s not rocket science,” said Flanagan. “When our kids don’t take the subjects we test them on, they score poorly on the tests. But thanks to the Governor and bi-partisan support on the State Board of Education and the Legislature we are putting our high schools on a whole different track.”

Beginning with this coming school year’s eighth graders (Class of 2011), in order to graduate, Michigan students will need to complete the new Michigan Merit Curriculum, which requires:

• Four credits of English;
• Four credits of math (including Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and one credit in the Senior Year);
• Three credits of science (including Biology, Chemistry or Physics, and one additional science credit);
• Three credits of social studies;
• One credit of health/physical education;
• One credit of visual, performing, applied arts;
• One on-line learning experience; and
• Two credits of a world language (by the graduating Class of 2016)

Many high schools have not been challenging all students to take the credits they need to be able to be successful in this 21st Century global economy, Flanagan explained.

“How can students score well on the MEAP, and next year on the new Michigan Merit Exam that includes the ACT test, if they don’t learn the content on the test,” Flanagan questioned. “If they don’t take Algebra and Biology, how are they going to know the answers to those questions on the tests, let alone have the knowledge to succeed in the global marketplace when they enter the work world?

“It is important that every student at least gets some exposure to this more rigorous content, and taught in a way that is relevant to them,” he added. “We will find that all students can learn it and will succeed when given the opportunity and tools.”

Flanagan said the bar is being raised not only for the students, but for teachers as well. The Michigan Department of Education is developing content standards for the Michigan Merit Curriculum so teachers will have a clear understanding of what should be taught in the various subjects.

Flanagan also noted that the state is embarking on a re-design of what will be expected of teacher preparation programs at the college and university levels so teachers will know how to reach every student; integrate technology into their classrooms; build real-world relevance into their instruction; and maintain a disciplined classroom that will foster learning for all students, as called for by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm in her 2006 State of the State address.

Unlike the elementary and middle school MEAP results that report the test scores each year for grades 3-8, the high school results are reported solely for the graduating seniors.

High school students are allowed to take the high school MEAP assessment multiple times throughout their high school years to qualify for Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment programs, and the Michigan Merit Award scholarship. The “Class of” results represent students’ best scores on the various subject tests throughout their high school careers.

Assessments are given in mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and writing. To be considered “proficient” in any certain subject, a student’s score must have met or exceeded state standards as set by an independent committee of testing and content area experts, and approved by the State Board of Education.

Only 52.37% of the students in the graduating Class of 2006 were proficient in math, compared to 56.85% in the Class of 2005. In science, the percent dropped from 58.4% to 56.77%; in writing, from 57.25% to 55.19%; and in reading, from 77.88% to 70.08%. In social studies, 36.79% of the students in the Class of 2006 were proficient, compared to 33.83% in the Class of 2005.

The Class of 2006 marked the fourth straight year that more students took the high school MEAP assessments, with approximately 3,000 more students participating in each test.

Much of that increase is driven by schools encouraging more students to participate in the exams, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind law. Schools that do not test 95% of their students do not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and the district itself will not make AYP if that level of student participation is not met across the district.

“What we’re seeing is more students who wouldn’t have taken the MEAP test in the past, now taking it,” said Edward Roeber, Senior Executive Director of the Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability at the Michigan Department of Education. “These are students who didn’t see themselves going to college and therefore did not need to take the MEAP in order to qualify for the Michigan Merit Award, or students who believed they just wouldn’t have done well on the tests.

“Now these students are taking the MEAP assessments without the essential academic foundation, and it may be a factor in the lower test scores over the past four years as well,” Roeber said.

As evidence to this, thousands more students in alternative education programs in school districts across the state, who historically did not take the MEAP exams, now are taking them in order for the districts to make AYP. There were 30 more alternative education schools and nearly 1,100 more alternative education students represented in the Class of 2006 results than in the previous year.

While the majority of students in Michigan participate in the MEAP, it is not appropriate for some students with disabilities. For that reason, the state developed MI-Access – Michigan’s alternate assessment program. This past school year, MI-Access launched two new alternate assessments—Functional Independence English language arts and Functional Independence mathematics. Students may participate in these assessments only if their Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines they are appropriate, based on the student’s cognitive functioning level, curriculum, and instruction.

In the spring 2006 grade 11 assessment cycle, 2,173 students with disabilities took part in the Functional Independence assessments, and they performed well, according to the Department of Education. Nearly 92% of the 2,085 students who took part in the Functional Independence English language arts assessment “Surpassed” or “Attained the Performance Standard,” and nearly 78% of the 2,090 students who took part in the Functional Independence mathematics assessment “Surpassed” or “Attained the Performance Standard.”

MEAP Test Results

• MEAP Homepage

State Assessment Results for Students with Disabilities

• MI-Access
• District Summary Results
• State Results Booklet