How are our high schools doing?

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This is a follow up to Seth Koenig’s recent article addressing our local schools’ Adequate Yearly Progress (“Aiming high — at a moving target,” Nov. 19). Clearly the mandated “No Child Left Behind” improvement of 10 percent each year is difficult.

The data presents a clearer picture if one forgets about annual yearly progress performance and concentrates on actual results. The Maine Department of Education posts school testing data on their website for all Maine schools receiving public funds.  Focusing on the percentage of students that “meet or exceed” the 11th-grade standards in each subject tested, it is possible to see trends among schools over time.

The 2005-2006 posting cut scores and the format might have changed compared to 2009-2010. For this reason, I included several schools so that readers can compare how each school fared, given any changes.

After reviewing the results, the following questions come to mind:

— Does every school use the same K-12 curriculum/text book?

— Were there any significant changes in the schedule (traditional, block, 4×4)?

— Did the district go through a consolidation?

— Does the district have a curriculum subject specialist with a degree in his/her subject?

— When were middle and high school laptop programs introduced?

— How does the “per pupil spending” vary by school?

— Over the five-year period, what might have contributed to the positive or negative difference in test scores?

I believe that the majority of teachers currently employed were also teaching in 2005-2006. Over the past five or more years, some schools have experienced significant changes to the schedule and curriculum. These changes are often out of the teacher’s control; therefore, I have a very hard time placing blame on our many dedicated teachers. There has to be more to the story and often it starts before high school.

In 1996, Maine was No. 1 in eighth-grade math (according to NAEP testing data). In 2007, our eighth-grade math ranking dropped to 24th. A recent study now ranks Maine 28th in the “percent of students reaching the advanced level in math.” If Maine were its own country, we’d be outperformed by 32 countries. What has happened?

I would encourage various school boards to hold joint meetings to review the combined data and draw some conclusions. One thing is clear, in some cases, the achievement gap has widened between area high schools and the state’s top-performing high schools.

As a community, we must openly and honestly address this gap. The intent of this commentary is to put a spotlight on the wide gap in proficiency between area high schools in hopes the community will work hard to close any gaps.

Beth Schultz is co-founder of the Maine Coalition for World-Class Math.  This article originally appeared in the Times Record and is reprinted with the permission of the author and the Times Record.

11th Grade Standards Achievement

A B C D E F G H I J K L
1 % OF STUDENTS “MEETING + EXCEEDING” 11TH GRADE STATE STANDARDS
2 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-0008 2008-2009 2009-2010 % change from 06-10
3 Morse High, Bath (07-10 for Science)
4 math 57% 37% 34% 31% 39% -18%
5 writing 50% 47% 36% 42% 41% -9%
6 reading 53% 45% 43% 45% 44% -9%
7 science N/A N/A 37% 34% 30% -7%
8
9 Brunswick High
10 math 52% 46% 52% 53% 60% 8%
11 writing 52% 54% 59% 63% 62% 10%
12 reading 53% 56% 64% 64% 64% 11%
13 science N/A N/A 54% 55% 54% 0%
14
15 Yarmouth High
16 math 80% 81% 76% 78% 82% 2%
17 writing 88% 88% 83% 82% 89% 1%
18 reading 81% 78% 84% 89% 78% -3%
19 science N/A N/A 74% 68% 65% -9%
20
21 Mt. Ararat, Topsham
22 math 61% 47% 42% 47% 50% -11%
23 writing 59% 55% 50% 55% 53% -6%
24 reading 57% 50% 53% 54% 53% -4%
25 science N/A N/A 47% 48% 48% 1%
26
27 Wiscasset High
28 math 46% 43% 47% 37% 34% -12%
29 writing 46% 45% 40% 40% 36% -10%
30 reading 49% 47% 40% 54% 36% -13%
31 science N/A N/A 50% 42% 30% -20%
32
33 Source: Maine Department of Education