Schools

Huron Valley Scores on 2012 Michigan Merit Exam Exceed State Averages

The 2012 scores dropped noticeably compared to last year's averages due to new scoring standards put in place by the Michigan Department of Education last year.

Some of the Huron Valley scores from the 2012 Michigan Merit Exam (MME) may have taken a hit under new state scoring standards, but the district's 2012 scores, released Thursday, continue to outstrip state averages.

The MME, according to the Michigan Department of Education, assesses students in the eleventh grade based on Michigan high school standards. The test includes the ACT Plus Writing college entrance examination, along with other state proficiency tests.

Student performance falls into one of four categories: advanced, proficient, partially proficient and not proficient. Students must score either "proficient" or "advanced" to be considered proficient in that subject.

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In Huron Valley and across Michigan, students' scores took a hit in 2012 due to new scoring standards adopted by the Michigan Department of Education in September 2011.

The new cut scores — which went into effect for the MME and Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) this year — are more rigorous than previous standards: Students now need to get roughly 65 percent of the answers correct to “pass” the state test, instead of the previous benchmark of 39 percent.

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According to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, the previous standard was based on the very basic knowledge that students needed in an industrial manufacturing economy — where students could get a high school diploma and get a good-paying job at a factory.

Those opportunities are mostly gone now, he said, with students needing at least a two-year community college education to compete in the technology-driven, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century.

However, based on adjusted cut scores, Flanagan said in a press release Thursday that the 2012 state averages show one-year gains in several subjects, especially reading and writing.

"The impact of having students engage in the rigorous Michigan Merit Curriculum is evident here,” said Flanagan. “When students have the benefit of learning higher-level subject material, more will become career- and college-ready and prepared for success."

“We have to make sure we keep motivating all students with a challenging curriculum, and not give in to thinking that our kids just can’t do it. They can and they are,” Flanagan added.

In Huron Valley, the percentage of students who scored either proficient or advanced on the 2012 MME decreased in nearly every subject except for writing. In 2011, 60 percent of Huron Valley students were proficient or advanced in writing; in 2012, that figure stayed at 60 percent.

The biggest hit, however, came in social studies. In 2012, only 48 percent of Huron Valley students scored proficient or advanced on the science test, down from 83 percent in 2011. Huron Valley's figure was significantly higher, however, than the state average of 22 percent.

Category

Huron Valley
(% proficient or advanced)

Michigan
(% proficient or advanced) Reading 2012 64 49 Reading 2011 71 63 Writing 2012 60 43 Writing 2011 60 47 Math 2012 32 26 Math 2011 58 52 Science 2012 34 22 Science 2011 73 61 Social Studies 2012 48 42 Social Studies 2011 83 78

Note: 2011 scores are based on the old cut scores.

Huron Valley saw a small increase in the average ACT score in 2012, with the average score going from 20.1 in 2011 to 20.5. The state average, meanwhile, jumped from 19.3 to 19.6 in 2012.


Huron Valley
Michigan ACT Average 2011 20.1 19.3 ACT Average 2012 20.5 19.6

All data provided by the Michigan Department of Education.


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