West Bloomfield's 2012 MEAP Results Show Overall Drops

The annual MEAP results, released Monday morning, showed academic declines in most areas for West Bloomfield students in the last year.

Still, the results show students maintaining a higher level of proficiency in every grade level and every subject than peers statewide.

The 2012 Michigan Educational Assessment Program measures progress in subjects such as math, reading, writing, science and social studies for third through ninth-graders.

In West Bloomfield, students' results took their biggest hits in science, where fifth-graders dropped from 23.9 percent proficient in 2011 to 13.5 percent proficient in 2012. In eighth grade, results fell from 27.4 percent proficient in 2011 to 19.9 percent proficient in 2012.

In math, scores were down across the board except for fifth-graders, who rose in proficiency by 2.6 percentage points between 2011 and 2012, and eighth-graders, who rose by 3.2 percentage points. Fourth- and sixth-graders each fell 6.1 percentage points between 2011 and 2012. Third-graders fell from 62.3 percent proficient in 2011 to 58.3 percent proficient in 2012, while seventh-graders fell from 57.6 percent proficient in 2011 to 55.7 percent proficient in 2012.

Reading, writing, and social studies scores are all a mixed bag of results. The greatest overall gains were taken in third grade reading, where scores improved from 73.9 percent proficient in 2011 to 80.5 percent proficient in 2012, a gain of 6.6 percent. However, fourth grade reading scores dropped 6.5 percentage points, from 81 percent proficient in 2011 to 74.5 percent proficient in 2012.

Fourth grade writing scores fell from 67.1 percent proficient in 2011 to 59.5 percent proficient in 2012, a difference of 7.6 percentage points. Seventh grade writing scores took a modest gain of 0.3 percentage points from 2011 to 2012.

Ninth grade social studies results took a gain of 5.8 percentage points from 2011 to 2012, with scores of 31 percent proficient and 36.8 percent proficient, respectively. Sixth grade social studies scores dropped from 36.1 percent proficient in 2011 to 31.8 percent proficient in 2012.

Locally, several districts saw profiency ratings drop in 2011 due to new cut scores from the state.  The new scores were based on students getting more of the answers correct than in year's past. And this year's results are the first apples-to-apples comparison based on those new guidelines.

New scores demonstrate students, teachers 'rising to the challenge' of new standards

Statewide reading, mathematics and writing scores saw positive gains compared to the previous year, the Michigan Department of Education said in a press release.

“These gains demonstrate Michigan’s teachers and students are rising to the challenge of the rigorous standards established last year,” State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said in a press release. “I am encouraged by the progress we are making in Michigan and look forward to the continued efforts to help all students achieve at a higher level in all subjects.”

Last year, West Bloomfield students' results took a hit due to new cut scores — the passing scores that distinguish between whether a student is advanced, proficient, partially proficient or not proficient in certain subjects — which were adopted by the State Board of Education in Sept. 2010.

With the more rigorous cut scores, students need to get roughly 65 percent of the answers correct to "pass" the state test, instead of only 39 percent that was the previous benchmark. Here's a look at last year's results.

Here's a look at the 2012 MEAP results:

MEAP Reading Results

(Percentage of all West Bloomfield students who met or exceeded state standards, as compared with those same percentages in 2011.)

MEAP Math Results

MEAP Writing Results

MEAP Science Scores

MEAP Social Studies Results

Source: Michigan Department of Education