I know that many of you were like myself and could almost hear the voice of Andy Williams crooning “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” Friday afternoon when the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) data drop occurred! Well, perhaps that would be exaggerating it a bit, but it is that time of year again for heat advisories, the sound of cicadas in the trees, and Mississippi test scores. I continue to be surprised by the fact some people still keep an eye out for these rankings of the assessment results for schools and school districts, which quite a few years ago I started posting annually as a personal project. Due to the continued interest by some, I am continuing the tradition this year and have listed the results for the state for Biology I by district/school and ranked them by percent scoring in the top two levels. As usual, I am using the percent in the top two levels which certainly seems to be the preferred method of determining the percent scoring a “Proficient or above” type score, which is the goal score range for students to reach. This is far and away the primary data to be derived from this data release which influences school and school district accountability levels. This method is certainly preferable to using the average scale score or similar methods used in the past by some websites for reasons discussed in previous posts. If you are still curious about why average “scale score” or average “standardized scale score,” are not a legitimate means to examine MAAP performance by a group of students according to our accountability model, feel free to read a post on the subject from a number of years ago, (Why Average Scale Scores Should Not Be Used for MAAP Performance Comparisons).
I feel pretty confident in the data at this point, but please let me know if you spot any errors. My goal for making this information available in this particular format is to aid in improved instruction for all of our students. I simply ask, if you make use of the data in this format, please pass along the word of where you obtained it, as all too often people do not. To paraphrase Crash Davis from Bull Durham, I hope when you speak of me, you speak well.
Simply click the link below to access the DISTRICT LEVEL BIOLOGY I ranking report:
Click the following link below to access the SCHOOL LEVEL BIOLOGY I ranking report:
I wish all of you the best this year as you work to improve the education of our most valuable resource, the young people of our state. Please do not forget to exercise your responsibility as citizens this year by voting as well. We have an excellent opportunity this year to choose leadership with a positive vision for the future of our state, which includes supporting our public schools. I hope you thoughtfully consider who you believe will be the best person for the positions on the ballot and exercise your right to have your voice heard via the ballot box.
Thanks,
Clint Stroupe
*These rankings are for informational purposes only. Growth is far more valuable information on determining whether learning took place and to what degree rather than end-of-year scores only, which only tell us where students at a school “ended up” without knowledge of where they “began.”
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