The results of the 2017 statewide ACT Aspire testing were released last week and, according to the Arkansas Department of Education, the state’s students scored higher this year than last. More than 287,500 of the state’s students took the series of exams. Arkansas is in its second year using the assessments after the state decided to drop the Common Core-tied PARCC assessment in 2015.
ACT Aspire is comprised of online tests that measure English, Math, Science, Reading, Writing, ELA (English Language Arts) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Statewide results indicate that Arkansas students improved in most grades and subjects, except for sixth-grade science, fifth-grade English and third-grade writing.
Some improvement can be attributed to the increased familiarity with the format, districts being technologically better prepared and more time being given to students on the writing assessment this year.
Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key added, "The increase in Arkansas' scores can be attributed to the full implementation of the state's rigorous education standards, high-quality professional development, and innovative and evidence-based teaching practices in the classroom that encourage student engagement and learning…[and] a positive reflection of the work of our dedicated educators."
Results are divided into five categories: met readiness benchmark, exceeding, ready, close and in need of support. According to the ACT Aspire website, the designations are defined like this: “Students in the ‘ready’ category have met the ACT Readiness Benchmark and are on target for 50% or higher likelihood of college course success by grade 11; students in the ‘close’ category scored below but near the ACT Readiness Benchmark, considering the measurement error; and students in the ‘in need of support’ category performed substantially below the ACT Readiness Benchmark.”
Statewide results indicate that the number of students meeting state "readiness" benchmarks on the state's ACT Aspire exam rose by an average of 4.2 percent from last year across subject areas. Also, Arkansas students performed best on the English portion of the exam, with 69.9 percent of students meeting state benchmark standards, only 46.8 percent met the benchmark in math, 40.36 percent in science, and 40.6 percent in reading. Writing scores saw the greatest increase, up 11.3 percent n grades 3 through 10, and a 21.72 percent increase in fifth grade writing.
"While we want to see continued improvements in the future, the increased scores in math and writing bode well for our state in our efforts to attract more industry with a strong workforce," said Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Former Armorel School Superintendent Sally Bennett wrote in her April 7, 2016 guest commentary to the CN that “The early grade component is for grades 3-8, and results of these assessments are not a predictor for future ACT scores.
However, the ninth and tenth grade assessments (which are not course specific) are predictors for future ACT scores.”
Bennett also said that the scores “are also used for ‘grading’ schools as required under the law from an ‘A’ to an ‘F’ scale depending on how well the students perform.”
Low assessment scores was precisely what placed the Blytheville School District on Academic Distress in May 2014. However, on February 9, 2017 the Arkansas Board of Education voted to remove the academic distress designation from Blytheville High and the Blytheville Public School System. Blytheville Middle School’s designation remains.
According to a January 27 letter signed by M. Annette Barnes, Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Public School Accountability at the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), "To be removed from Academic Distress, school(s) and or school district combined math and literacy proficiency percentages on the most recent three-year period of state mandated assessments must exceed 49.5 percent."
Below are comparative results from Mississippi County Schools for 10th, 8th and 3rd grades.
[Note: These three grades listed below were chosen in an attempt to give a broad snapshot from upper, middle and lower level grades. Also, to find out what percentage of students in your school failed to meet benchmark standards, simply subtract the percentage of students that “met or exceeded” the benchmark from 100. For example, if a school district has 6 percent of students meet or exceed benchmark, then 94 percent failed (as was the case in Blytheville’s 10th grade math category).]
10th Grade
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for English was Armorel with 73.7 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 29.7 percent. Gosnell scored 54.1 percent and KIPP scored 64.6 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for math was BIC with 33.9 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 4.7 percent. Blytheville scored 6 percent, Gosnell scored 32.7 percent, KIPP scored 24.2 percent and Armorel scored 21.1 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for science was Armorel with 47.4 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 7 percent. Blytheville scored 10.7 percent, Gosnell scored 36.7 percent and KIPP scored 19.2 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for reading was BIC with 51.6 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 16.3 percent. Blytheville scored 17.3 percent, Gosnell scored 32.7 percent, Armorel scored 36.8 percent and KIPP scored 24.2 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for writing was Armorel with 73.7 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 47.3 percent. Gosnell scored 65.3 percent and KIPP scored 59.6 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for ELA was Armorel with 65.8 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 25.7 percent. Gosnell scored 52 percent and KIPP scored 46.5 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for STEM was BIC with 40.3 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 7.4 percent. Armorel scored 36.8 percent, Gosnell scored 31.6 percent and KIPP scored 20.2 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for English was Armorel with 90.6 percent and the lowest was Rivercrest with 56.7 percent. Blytheville scored 57.4, Gosnell scored 78.1 percent and KIPP scored 60.3 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for math was Gosnell with 56.3 percent and the lowest was Rivercrest with 15.6 percent. Blytheville scored 16.3 percent, KIPP scored 21.5 percent and Armorel scored 43.8.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for science was Armorel with 53.1 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 16.4 percent. Gosnell scored 45.8 percent and KIPP scored 20.7 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for reading was Gosnell with 53.1 percent and the lowest Blytheville with 26.4 percent. Armorel scored 43.8 percent and KIPP scored 42.1 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for writing was Armorel with 56.3 percent and the lowest was Rivercrest with 26.7 percent. Blytheville scored 35.7 percent, Gosnell scored 46.9 percent and KIPP scored 33.1 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for ELA was Armorel with 78.1 percent and the lowest was Rivercrest with 38.9 percent. Blytheville had 41.1 percent, Gosnell had 63.5 percent and KIPP had 47.1 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for STEM was Gosnell with 54.2 percent and the lowest was Blytheville with 14.1 percent. Armorel scored 53.1 percent and KIPP scored 19 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for English was BIC with 91.2 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 45.5 percent. Blytheville scored 67.5 percent, Armorel scored 86.8 percent, Gosnell scored 78.3 percent and KIPP scored 72.7 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for math was Armorel with 81.6 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 29.5 percent. Blytheville scored 34.7 percent, Gosnell scored 67.8 percent and KIPP scored 46.8 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for science was Armorel with 63.2 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 13.4 percent. Blytheville scored 19.1 percent, Gosnell scored 33.9 percent and KIPP scored 24.7 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for reading was BIC with 52.6 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 10.7 percent. Blytheville scored 19 percent, Armorel scored 42.1 percent and KIPP scored 24.7 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for writing was Armorel with 56.3 percent and the lowest was Rivercrest with 26.7 percent. Blytheville had 35.7 percent, Gosnell had 46.9 percent and KIPP had 33.1 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for ELA was Armorel with 26.3 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 6.3 percent. Blytheville scored 11.2 percent, Gosnell scored 23.5 percent and KIPP scored 13 percent.
The school district with the highest percentage of students that met or exceeded the benchmark for STEM was Armorel with 65.8 percent and the lowest was Osceola with 10.7 percent. Blytheville scored 21.7 percent, Gosnell scored 45.2 percent and KIPP scored 24.7 percent.
thenry@blythevillecourier.com