Elmbrook WKCE Scores Are High With Some Declines

Elmbrook's annual WKCE test scores remain high, but district administrators will be assessing some declines in reading and math.

"Although we are very proud of our results, Elmbrook is always interested in attaining higher levels of success for all of our students," said Melanie Stewart, Elmbrook's director of assessment.

Students take the annual statewide assessments in November, but the results were released this morning by the state Department of Public Instruction. The results are in a chart at the bottom of this story.

Students in fourth, eighth and tenth grades are tested on reading, language, math, science and social studies. Students in third, fifth, sixth and seventh grades are tested only in reading and math.

Elmbrook's 2010-11 scores remain far above statewide averages, with the percentage of districtwide students testing at proficient or advanced ranging from 83 to 97, compared to the statewide range of 61 to 90 percent.

The number of students who obtained the highest possible score on a WKCE writing assessment more than doubled from last year, from 34 to 70. 

But results show declines for Elmbrook's fourth graders in all subjects except science which was unchanged. The declines were from one to three percentage points, with the largest dip in fourth-grade math results from 96 to 93. The results are the average of all six elementary schools.

Eighth graders across both middle schools showed the largest increases in test scores, with boosts in language, math and reading. The largest gain was in language, up from 80 to 83. 

Tenth graders across both high schools saw the largest one-year declines, dropping from 93 to 87 in reading and from 90 to 86 in math. But tenth graders improved in science and social studies and remained unchanged in language.

"Fluctuations of a few percentage points are expected due to changes in student population each year and further analysis is needed," Stewart said in a news release.

She said Elmbrook analyzes the results of individual schools and students. The district also tracks how students perform over time, compared to their results in previous years. 

For example, Stewart said, current eighth-graders tested higher in reading and math than they did when they were in seventh and sixth grades. Eighth graders scored 97 percent proficient or advanced in reading this year, up from 94 percent in their two previous years' reading tests.

In math, current eighth graders tested 93 percent proficient or advanced, compared to their scores of 93 and 91 in their previous two years' math tests.

This year's tenth graders, on the other hand, saw declines in their reading and math scores, compared to how they tested in eighth grade, Stewart said. Current tenth graders scored 87 percent proficient or advanced in reading this year, a decline from their 95 percent reading score two years ago in eighth grade. 

In math, current tenth graders scored 86% proficient or advanced, down from their 91% math score two years ago in eighth grade.

But Stewart noted it is not a direct apples-to-apples comparison as student classes advance K-12, because every year new students enroll in various grades. This year's eighth grade class, for example, has grown by 47 students since the same group was in sixth grade. This year's tenth grade class has 90 more students than it had two years ago in eighth grade. Those changes in student population can skew test data.

"That is why during analysis we drill down to the individual (student) level," Stewart said.

Elmbrook will need to continue work on closing a gap in reading scores for students who are disabled or economically disadvantaged, she added.

The latest results showed reading scores for non-disabled and non-economically disadvantaged fourth, eighth and tenth graders ranging from 90 to 99, compared a range of 47 to 87 in reading scores for disabled and economically disadvantaged peers.

Chart figures below represent the total percentage of students who scored proficient and advanced.