MEAP scores to decline under new standards

To assist schools in transitioning to new state standards, the Michigan Department of Education released the past four years of MEAP and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) data, retroactively applying the new cut scores adopted by the State Board of Education in September.

The new cut scores better reflect how well schools are preparing their students to be career- and college-ready.

“These data will provide educators, parents and communities with a more accurate understanding of what student achievement would have been if the new cut scores had been in place during the past four years,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “These retro-scores can serve as a tool to guide instruction, professional development and student support.”

Cut scores are the passing scores that distinguish between the four levels of student performance on a given test, in consideration of the content being measured.

Applying the new cut scores to historical MEAP and MME data shows a dramatic decline in student test scores across the state. Third-grade math scores in 2010, for example, go from 95 percent proficient to 35 percent.

The Education Department says the retro-scores will not be used to recalculate any school accountability measures such as Adequate Yearly Progress.

The updated data can be found at the MISchoolData portal website.