2013 SAT Results Released

Post date: Sep 02, 2013 1:34:36 PM

DISHS's results from the 2013 Maine High School Assessment, which consists of the May SAT and a science augmentation test taken earlier in the year, have been released.  A brief summary of the report:

Page 2: Summary of Scaled Scores.  The left hand column shows a three year summary of the average scaled score for DISHS compared to the state.  You can see in all four areas that our average scaled score is below the average scaled score for the state.  However, you can also see the state average is remaining relatively constant (little/no growth) while ours is increasing- we are closing the gap with the state average, especially in reading and math.

Page 2: Summary of Proficiency.  The right side of page two shows charts representing the percentage of students who fall into each of the four levels of proficiency.  While we have fewer students in the proficient and distinguished category in most cases, it is worth noting that our math scores reflect the state average.

Page 4: Critical Reading Results.  The table shows the results of the last three years in reading, broken down by proficiency level.  37% of DISHS test-takers were at the distinguished or proficient levels in 2012-13, a slight decrease from the previous year but continuing a generally positive trend in reading proficiency.

Page 6: Math Results.  The table shows the results of the last three years in math, broken down by proficiency level.  49% of DISHS test-takers were at the distinguished or proficient levels in 2012-13, the highest percentage in the past decade and one percentage point above the state average.  This is a continuation of a strong positive trend in proficiency rates and reflects some great work by our math teachers.  While there is still room for improvement, much ground has been gained.

Page 8: Writing Results.  The table shows the results of the last three years in writing, broken down by proficiency level.  31% of DISHS test-takers were at the distinguished or proficient levels in 2012-13, a rather steep decrease from last year but more or less average compared to previous years.

Page 10: Science Results.  The table shows the results of the last three years in science, broken down by proficiency level.  23% of DISHS test-takers were at the distinguished or proficient levels in 2012-13, another steep decrease from the previous year but much better than many of the previous years.  Keep in mind that most of these test-takers had a long-term sub as their 11th grade science teacher last year.  We're confident that having a certified physical science teacher in place for the entire year will go a long way towards improving these results.

We are also interested in student improvement, even if the final score is not proficient.  While not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, we've calculated the average increase in scores from the 10th grade PSAT to the 11th grade PSAT to the 11th grade SAT for this group of students:

The DISHS staff is putting the final touches on our annual School Improvement Action Plan, one of the goals of which is to ensure that "all students demonstrate reading, writing, and math skills at or above grade level and make at least a year's growth in a year's time."

Further analysis, conclusions, and next steps will be discussed at the 9/3 school board meeting.