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Improvements made: State tests show literacy efforts are paying off for New Madrid County R-1
NEW MADRID, Mo. - The release of the numbers from Missouri’s Annual Performance Report for schools brought good news for Dr. Sam Duncan, superintendent for the New Madrid County R-1 School District. Academic strides are being made districtwide.
“What the numbers say is our individual students are making gains over time,” he said as he looked at the state’s data online at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website. “We haven’t arrived yet but when you see the numbers you will see that we are coming up.”
Based on tests taken by students in third through eighth grade and those completing high school English 2 during the 2018-19 school year, improvements were made in English language arts. While still short of the state’s goal, Duncan noted the district’s students exceeded DESE’s growth expectations.
Duncan said according to the spring 2019 ELA MAP/EOC scores the District ranked 13th of the 534 Missouri school districts reported on English Language ArtsMAP/EOC average scaled score growth when comparing 2017 to 2019 scores. The District was 29th in Missouri for MPI growth from 2018 to 2019.
“In addition, New Madrid County R-1 ELA scores are increasing at a higher rate than any other school district in the southeast region,” he said.
He was equally pleased with students overall mathematics scores. He pointed out the district’s students were “on track” in their improvements in that category as well.
Based on the math MAP/EOC scores the District ranked 25th of all 534 Missouri school districts when comparing 2017 to 2019 scores, and 16th in Missouri for MPI growth from 2018 to 2019.
In addition, he explained that the R-1 District’s math scores are increasing at a higher rate than any other school district in the southeast region when comparing 2018 and 2019 MAP/EOC scores.
With the APR this year, DESE did not give the schools or districts an overall score, instead state officials focused on the data behind the score including point totals and percentages for each district using a color graphics format.
According to the 2019 APR, R-1 saw improvements in English language arts and mathematics by the overall student body and subgroups. The data for science testing won’t be released until Nov. 23.
Duncan attributes the improvements to the R-1 District’s emphasis on literacy at the three elementary schools, middle school and high school. Tests numbers reflect their efforts are working, he said. Previously only 31 percent of the district’s third graders tested proficient or advanced in English language arts with the current test results showing now 63 percent are proficient or advanced, Duncan explained.
“And because the third graders can read the test, it has paid off in math too. . . When you look at our third grade, we have gone from 25 percent to 63 percent proficient on the third grade math test,” he said. “Now not all of these numbers are as strong as we want them to be but we are heading in the right direction. . . I’m just thrilled with the work our students and teachers have done.”
According to Duncan state officials said when reviewing the colored graphics to look at the whole row. “If you see you are on track or exceeding, you can say this is something to celebrate. If you don’t see you are on track in this area or exceeding in this area, you need to get to work.”
While Duncan said he is celebrating the gains, the APR showed several areas still need improvement. For example, he pointed out ACT scores have not risen over the past several years.
The ACT is required by many colleges for admittance and is taken by all R-1 students whether they are college-bound or not, Duncan said.
“Most districts in this area still struggle with that. But we also know looking at this that it is an area we can continue to focus on and now that we see we are making gains on literacy, this is going to go up, too. We just have to stay the course.”
Duncan acknowledged attendance is another area in need of improvement.
The graphic for graduation rate put the R-1 District in the “Approaching” box, because the rate remained steady.
“But we are 99.2 percent. You can’t do much better than that,” he explained.
Duncan recommended parents review the APR information from the state as well as the results of other tests conducted throughout the school year. He urged parents to keep in contact with school officials and monitor how their child is doing in school.
But, he emphasized, it just shouldn’t be just the numbers on the tests parents consider.
“It is all about the kids and everything students need to thrive. We think that being able to read well is one of those things. I do think the big question is how do I know if my child can read? I think that is one of the biggest questions that we owe our parents an answer to and I’m very confident that we can answer that question,” he said. “This district has turned a corner on its ability and its confidence in teaching students how to read and not half-way read but to read well.”