State Testing Results Show Meaningful Gains
In a climate of decreased funding for schools and increased poverty among the families that Federal Way Public Schools serve, the results of state testing conducted last spring reveal meaningful gains well-worth celebrating.
Among them, an 18.5 percentile point jump in 10th grade math scores, which can be largely attributed to a new version of state math testing that more accurately assesses student knowledge. This year, the state replaced the previous once-a-year test given early in April with an end-of-course (EOC) assessment for math subjects. Unlike the previous math WASL and HSPE tests, the EOC is given at the end of the instruction period. This ensures that students have actually received instruction in the skills on the test, and tests them on those skills while the instruction is still fresh in their memories.
The district’s continuously-enrolled 10th-grade students moved from 45 percent meeting standard in math in 2009-2010 to over 63 percent meeting standard this past year. Also at the high school level, more students met the standard in reading, with 82 percent at or above standard compared to 78 percent in 2009-2010. High school scores were comparable or slightly lower than the state’s averages in most categories.
At the elementary level, the district’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students overall saw some minor losses in scores, but continue to score higher than the state average in third and fifth grade reading, and third, fourth and fifth grade math. At the middle school level, the district’s 6th-grade students made some slight gains in reading and math, while 7th and 8th-grade seventh grade students saw overall stagnant or slightly lower scores. Nevertheless, 7th-graders continue to score higher than the state average in reading, and 8th-grade students scored higher than the state average in both reading and math.
About Adequate Yearly Progress
State testing scores determine whether schools and districts have made adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind).The law says that schools will have 100% of students meeting standard by 2014. In Washington, the state has decided to approach that goal in three-year increments: Every third year, the required score for meeting AYP is raised. In 2010-11, the bar was raised in each of the following categories:
- Elementary reading (raised to 88.1 percent from 76.1 percent as the minimum to meet the goal)
- Middle school Reading (raised to 82.5 percent from 65.1 percent)
- High School Reading (raised to 87.2 percent from 74.3 percent)
- High School Math (raised to 81.2 percent from 62.4 percent)
This sharp step up in the bar, or minimum score, contributed to far more schools missing AYP this year. A number of schools made gains, but still missed the bar because the gain wasn’t large enough. Lake Grove Elementary, for example, made a 7.4 point increase in reading scores (68.2 to 75.6 percent meeting standard) but still missed the AYP minimum of 88.1. At the middle school level, Lakota made a nearly 6 point increase in 8th-grade reading scores, from 70.7 to 76.5 percent, but missed the required 82.5 percent bar. At the high school level, Federal Way High School went from 74.7 percent meeting the reading standard in 2009-10 to 78.8 percent meeting standard last year – but missed the bar which is now set at 81.2 percent.
The following schools made AYP in all cells*, or categories: Adelaide, Brigadoon, Enterprise, Federal Way Public Academy, Green Gables, Mark Twain, Meredith Hill, Merit School, Sherwood Forest, Support School, Technology Access Foundation academy (TAFA), Twin Lakes and Woodmont.
As a district, Federal Way Public Schools is in Step 2 of Improvement. However, the district has made AYP in some cells that have proved challenging in the past:
- In elementary math, the district made adequate yearly progress (AYP) in all cells
- All elementary schools met standard in the math ‘all’ cell
- In elementary reading, the district made AYP in ‘limited English’
- Also in elementary reading, the district made AYP in Special Education
- In middle school math, the district made AYP in the Asian/Pacific Islander category
- In middle school reading, the district made AYP in ‘limited English’
- In high school math, the district made AYP in all student groups
- In high school math and reading, the district made AYP in Asian-Pacific Islander and White
- In high school reading, the district made AYP in the Low Income cell
*Cells refers to the categories of students as defined by the federal government, including all students; five racial/ethnic groups; students with disabilities (Special Education); students with limited English proficiency (ELL); and students from low-income families, in addition to non-performance goals such as test participation.
A comparison of Federal Way's performance on the state's standardized tests show our district is performing comparably and, in many cases, exceeding that of districts with similar demographics and challenges.
Reading* |
|||||||||
| District | Student Population** |
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | FRE*** |
| Renton | 14,429 | 71.0 | 67.7 | 63.3 | 66.0 | 57.5 | 66.9 | 75.4 | 54.2 |
| Auburn | 14,684 | 82.9 | 72.6 | 77.7 | 67.8 | 50.6 | 64.2 | 78.2 | 52.1 |
| Highline | 17,973 | 62.6 | 50.9 | 52.6 | 60.2 | 48.4 | 61.8 | 76.5 | 66.9 |
| Puyallup | 20,872 | 79.7 | 76.1 | 76.9 | 79.4 | 62.4 | 71.9 | 87.3 | 31.4 |
| Federal Way | 21,998 | 74.5 | 66.1 | 70.9 | 68.3 | 58.8 | 71.5 | 81.6 | 50.0 |
| Kent | 26,992 | 68.8 | 65.2 | 66.9 | 73.3 | 56.3 | 66.0 | 84.4 | 49.7 |
| Tacoma | 28,753 | 69.8 | 57.6 | 53.3 | 56.7 | 45.1 | 55.7 | 78.4 | 60.0 |
| Seattle | 47,808 | 76.8 | 70.6 | 69.3 | 73.7 | 61.3 | 72.5 | 79.5 | 43.3 |
| WA State | 1,039,748 | 73.0 | 67.2 | 67.6 | 70.3 | 57.0 | 69.3 | 82.7 | 43.6 |
* Based on OSPI Washington State Report Card Summary
** October 2010 Student Count
*** Free or Reduced-Price Meals % (May 2011) under Special Programs
Math* |
|||||||||
| District | Student Population** |
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | FRE*** |
| Renton | 14,429 | 63.1 | 59.1 | 56.8 | 50.2 | 49.1 | 52.1 | 61.4 | 54.2 |
| Auburn | 14,684 | 71.6 | 70.2 | 70.3 | 61.7 | 52.5 | 45.8 | 67.3 | 52.1 |
| Highline | 17,973 | 49.9 | 47.5 | 53.3 | 57.2 | 51.6 | 40.1 | 51.2 | 66.9 |
| Puyallup | 20,872 | 67.1 | 68.0 | 71.7 | 72.6 | 70.1 | 63.1 | 70.7 | 31.4 |
| Federal Way | 21,998 | 65.8 | 60.5 | 69.6 | 56.9 | 51.6 | 50.7 | 63.4 | 50.0 |
| Kent | 26,992 | 58.4 | 58.6 | 61.2 | 67.6 | 58.1 | 52.9 | 70.7 | 49.7 |
| Tacoma | 28,753 | 59.6 | 48.4 | 53.3 | 42.0 | 40.0 | 36.7 | 54.6 | 60.0 |
| Seattle | 47,808 | 67.5 | 65.0 | 65.1 | 65.9 | 66.3 | 61.8 | 65.0 | 43.3 |
| WA State | 1,039,748 | 62.4 | 60.4 | 62.2 | 59.9 | 58.3 | 52.0 | 66.1 | 43.6 |
* Based on OSPI Washington State Report Card Summary
** October 2010 Student Count
*** Free or Reduced-Price Meals % (May 2011) under Special Programs
Posted: September 1, 2011