NECAP Scores Improve, But 'Not All Good News'

Gov. Lincoln Chafee and Commissioner of Education Deborah Gist this morning unveiled the results of the 2010 New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP, a set of standardized tests given to students each year.

In their presentation at Globe Park Elementary School in Woonsocket, Chafee and Gist focused on students who made significant improvement — especially at the high school level — though they also acknowledged the lack of improvement at the elementary school level and the low levels of achievement in math.

Rhode Island students made some gains in mathematics and reading, but just
one-third of high school students are proficient in math, and the achievement gap
between the state average and minority students remains “unacceptably high.”

In , 57 percent of students scored at the "proficient" level in reading, with the highest scores in middle school grades: 62, 58, and 59 percent for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, respectively. An additional 12 percent of Johnston students scored in the "proficient with distinction" category.

Math scores in Johnston placed 42 percent of students at proficient and 9 percent at proficient with distinction, a combined score that was slighty higher than the 48 percent of students who scored "partially proficient" (28 percent) and "substantially below proficient" (20 percent).

On the writing test, 48 percent Johnston fifth-graders fell in the proficient category, while 50 percent of eighth-graders and 60 percent of eleventh-graders earned proficient status.

(Find complete results at the NECAP results website here.)

“I am gratified at the positive progress reflected in these scores,” Chafee said. “At the same time though, I am acutely aware of the need for continued efforts to improve our education system.”

Proficiency levels in reading among 11th graders across the state improved 3 percentage points between 2009 and 2010 to 76 percent proficient. The four-year graduation rate increased by one point to 76 percent. Proficiency in math among high-schoolers increased by 6 percentage points over 2009, but those gains raised the level in math to just 33 percent. Thirty-eight percent were “substantially below proficient”in math, which would put them below the minimum requirements for high school graduation.

Elementary and middle school students saw little or no improvement across the
board. At the elementary level, 71 percent of Rhode Island students are proficient in
reading and 61 percent are proficient in math. Middle schoolers scored 70 percent
and 57 percent, respectively.

“I am very pleased with the significant improvements in our high-school scores, and
we now need to see this kind of progress at every grade level,” Gist said. “But the
news is not all good.”

In addition to the high school math scores, Gist said she is particularly concerned
with the achievement gaps among minority and disadvantaged students. Average
proficiency levels among black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students
are 15 points lower than the statewide average.

“This must change,” Gist said. “We need to tackle the belief that all students can be
successful. We will not accept excuses for our students not achieving, because we
know they can. Closing the achievement gap is an explicit goal.”

Gist said improving education across the board involves collaboration among
teachers, administrators and parents. The state must improve educator
effectiveness, she said, by assigning teachers based on student needs, increasing
professional development and implementing a comprehensive teacher evaluation
system.

"When students have highly effective teachers, students can make gains,” Gist
said, “but we can not do it alone. We need every Rhode Islander involved.”

And that includes those holding the purse strings. Chafee indicated a willingness to
restore state aid to cities and towns for education that the previous administration
had cut, but acknowledged the difficulty of doing so in a still-struggling economy.

“So often it is the resources,” Chafee said about improvements in education. “I
want to make sure I address that in the coming budget if I can. No doubt this is a
challenge. But if we can get the economy going, I hope to restore funding.”

How likely does the governor think it is to increase education aid in the coming
budget?

“Optimistic is not the right word,” he said.

The NECAP assessments measure progress in reading and mathematics among
students in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 11. They also measure proficiency in
writing in fifth- and eighth-graders. Rhode Island joins Maine, New Hampshire and
Vermont in administering the only multi-state testing program in the country.

Watch JohnstonPatch for further updates, including reaction from local school officials.