Test data expose wide gap between top, bottom schools
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Hawai'i State Assessment scores identify strengths, weaknesses |
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The gap in proficiency between the state's highest and lowest performing public schools is more than 30 percentage points in math and more than 50 percentage points in reading among students heading toward graduation, an Advertiser data-based analysis of the latest school-by-school test scores shows.
Even at the state's best public schools, almost two-thirds or more of the students lack proficiency in math in their last three years of high school. This includes 10th-grade students at the nine high schools that score the highest in math in the state.
The Department of Education released overall results of the Hawai'i State Assessment in July and followed up with the release of scores for individual schools last month. After considering appeals from some schools, it was determined that 182 of the state's 282 public schools fell short of meeting Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind. But there was improvement in individual grade levels in many of the poor-performing schools.
The state assessment of scores showed the overall number of students proficient in math on the latest test was just 25 percent. The Advertiser's data-based reporting showed Maui County scoring the lowest in the state at 20 percent proficiency, the Big Island averaging 21 percent, Kaua'i averaging 26 percent and O'ahu 28 percent.
Reading proficiency was much higher.
The overall state proficiency average in reading was 49 percent, with the Big Island showing the highest level at 56 percent, Maui close behind at 54 percent, O'ahu next at 53 percent and Kaua'i lowest at 48 percent.
The performance of students on the Hawai'i State Assessment is most critical in meeting the standards of No Child Left Behind. But the numbers are important in other ways, such as examining the performance of students who will soon be entering college as an indicator of how they might succeed once there.
DECLINE IN SCORES
The data-based sorting of scores showed that even at the highest-performing schools, proficiency in both math and reading started at a higher level in the early years and progressively declined.
For instance, at 'Aina Haina Elementary — the highest scoring school in math — 85 percent of third-graders were proficient.
But among eighth-graders at the highest scoring middle school — Kaimuki — just 49 percent were proficient in math.
And, at the two highest performing high schools — Kalani and Mililani — just 35 percent of 10th-graders showed proficiency.
There's a similar decline in reading scores in higher grades at the best schools.
At Ka'elepulu Elementary, where students scored the highest, 87 percent of third-graders were proficient in reading.
But at the highest scoring middle school — again Kaimuki — proficiency rested at 72 percent of eighth graders.
And at the highest performing high school — Kaiser — 66 percent of 10th-graders were proficient.
"These are the (students who will become) graduating seniors who come directly from high school to the community colleges," said Linda Johnsrud, interim associate vice president for planning and policy at the University of Hawai'i. "And what that translates to is just 14 percent are ready for college level math and 34 percent are ready for college level reading," reflecting the high numbers of students needing to take refresher high-school courses in both math and reading at the community college level.
And that means community colleges are having to provide remedial courses so students can catch up. That in itself can be an emotional stumbling block.
"For students who thought they were going on to college, it's demoralizing knowing they'll spend a semester or two or more in course work that's not college level," said Johnsrud. "It's not transferable. And it costs them more money."
IMPROVING IN MATH
In releasing Hawai'i State Assessment scores for the 95,000 students who took the test last spring, the DOE compares students over time, which shows that students overall had improved in math from earlier tests, while staying virtually the same in reading.
The DOE's analysis also showed significant gains by more than two-thirds of the schools that had been under restructuring because of historically low test scores. Restructuring is the most severe federal sanction under No Child Left Behind, and 50 schools are now subject to takeover by the state based on the latest scores.
Both legislators and educators hoped implementation of a new funding system for schools based on student need would begin to make a difference in scores between middle-class and poorer neighborhoods, but the formula won't fully go into effect for several years.
DOE officials have insisted that although the number of schools not meeting standards is increasing, what matters most is that Hawai'i students are showing tremendous improvement over time.
Because The Advertiser's data-based analysis compared scores at the highest-performing schools with the lowest-performing schools, Robert McClelland, director of the Department of Education's Systems Accountability Office, called the results "too superficial."
"This doesn't look at growth at all," said McClelland. "For a particular school it might be an off year or a dip for them. For a number of schools you see them go up, up, up and then there's a dip and then they go back up.
"It's unfair to rate a school as low performing based on a snapshot. You need to look at performance over time."
However, snapshot results and bottom-line numbers from the Hawai'i State Assessment are what the federal government uses to assess the state's schools — with sanctions and the threat of the loss of federal dollars if benchmarks aren't reached annually.
NOT READY FOR COLLEGE
The gap in performance between lower and higher grade levels may help indicate the current readiness of Hawai'i's public school students for higher education.
If students don't have the basic skills they need to move on to college, "they 'stop out' or 'drop out,' " said Johnsrud. "And then they're in the workforce and probably in jobs where they can't make a living wage."
At Honolulu Community College, which houses most of the trade academies, poor math proficiency can keep students out of apprenticeship programs, or delay entrance into the programs.
To be an electrician, especially, students need at least high school algebra to submit an application for an apprenticeship program, said James Niino, HCC Apprenticeship Coordinator.
"The rest of the trades just look at the pre-algebra area like numerical skills, practical stuff like decimals, fractions," said Niino. "And the Employment Training Center offers prep classes for plumbers and carpenters and most of the applicants take advantage of the class because it's free."
COMPARING SCHOOLS
The Advertiser analysis of Hawai'i State Assessment scores from data the DOE released on Aug. 21 offers this breakdown of student performance:
But there are also surprises, with some high-scoring schools also located in poor or rural areas.
NEAR 'PROFICIENCY'
The DOE's McClelland suggests another way to analyze the data would be to look at accomplishments among subgroups of students over time, and where and how their scores are changing.
For instance, at Wai'anae High, where just 2 percent of the 10th grade students are proficient in math, another 44 percent are "approaching proficiency."
And at schools like Campbell and Farrington, which both have just 9 percent of 10th-graders proficient in math, another 53 percent at Campbell and 60 percent at Farrington are "approaching proficiency." If the schools can tip enough of those students over the mark, the numbers will change dramatically next year.
But there hasn't been much movement in the past year. Campbell had just 8 percent of its 10th-graders meeting proficiency in 2005 scores, with 72 percent approaching.
And Farrington slipped, with 12 percent of its 10th-graders a year ago meeting proficiency and 67 percent approaching.
However, others have fared better.
"Palolo, for example," said McClelland, "is one of those schools that's historically low and saw increases in the kids that were proficient every year."
Then, this year the school achieved Adequate Yearly Progress — the level of overall accomplishment required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
McClelland said the biggest concerns are subgroups or schools where there has been no progress.
Wesley Yuu, DOE education specialist for math, said plummeting math scores through the grade levels also are a fairly typical pattern in almost every state.
"There are a number of factors, one of which is student apathy," said Yuu. "As they get older they're not putting in as much effort as in the lower grades. ... That's why we don't just rely on the state test to assess how schools are doing. We also rely on principals walking through and looking at classroom assessment."
'DIPLOMA PROJECT'
No matter how the data are analyzed, concern over the results has brought the DOE, University of Hawai'i, Gov. Linda Lingle and the Business Roundtable together in a new joint initiative called the American Diploma Project aimed at better aligning curriculum between high school and college to improve the transition.
"We need to be absolutely clear on what it is that's needed by students," said Johnsrud. "We'll be having our faculty work with DOE teachers to make sure that the expectations for the outcomes for a given course in math are understood both at the high school and the college level.
"The whole point is to reduce the need for remediation so kids coming out of high school are better prepared for whatever they want to do — work or college."
Advertiser Staff Writer Jim Dooley contributed to this report. Reach Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2447. Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser .com or 525-8013.Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.
