This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Staff writer

Spring Lake Park District 16 students lagged behind the state’s number of those reaching proficiency on the 2010 Minnesota state science tests.

Still the district continues to make gains at Westwood intermediate and middle schools over last year’s MCA-II (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) test scores, while proficiency rates remain flat at Spring Lake Park High School.

Test scores were released to the public July 27.

The tests are a one-day snapshot of how students are doing in science, said Superintendent Jeff Ronneberg and Denise Waalen, District 16’s director of educational services.

About 986 SLP students took the science test this year. That breaks down to 333 fifth-graders at Westwood Intermediate, 308 eighth-graders at Westwood Middle School and 345 Spring Lake Park High School students who took the interactive, online test. This is the third year of the assessment.

Statewide, test scores have steadily increased from last year, with students achieving increased proficiencies of 1 percent to 5 percent, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

District gains

Overall, District 16 students taking the science test this year scored 43.7 percent proficient, an improvement of 5.1 percent over last year’s 38.6 percent.

“While we’re encouraged by the improved results, I don’t want to say, yeah, we’ve arrived,” Ronneberg said. “We have room to grow.”

District officials attribute the steady increase in proficiency rates to a new science curriculum adopted two years ago and the use of district curriculum leaders to examine data to help teachers.

But there are other factors involved.

The district is striving to personalize instruction, to align learning to meet the needs of the students.

Teachers meet weekly in professional learning communities to examine what teaching techniques work and to share ideas.

Also, the district has identified learning targets ensuring they are aligned with the state’s standards, according to Waalen.

“When we look at the district trend overall, to go from last year’s 38.6 percent to 43.7 percent proficient, that’s a nice increase to see and we’d like to see that continue,” Waalen said.

Additionally, providing students with interventions in reading and math can affect what students are doing in science, she said.

District schools

Westwood Intermediate fifth-graders came in at 41.7 percent proficient, 4.3 percent less than the state proficiency rate of 46 percent. However, the class continues to make steady gains in achievement from last year’s number of 33.7 percent.

(It is important to note in comparing proficiency rates from year to year that different groups of students are tested each year. For example, the comparison would be between this year’s fifth-graders and last year’s fifth-graders and not a comparison of the same class of students in two consecutive years.)

Westwood Middle School eighth-graders came in just under the state’s proficiency rate of 47.9 percent with 45.1 percent achieving proficiency or 2.8 percent less than the state. Similar to Westwood Intermediate, this class also has raised the bar from last year’s proficiency rate of 37 percent. That’s a 7.6 percent increase.

The number of students reaching proficiency at Spring Lake Park High School was 44.4 percent, 7.4 percent less than the state’s rate of 51.8 percent.

By comparison, 44.1 percent of last year’s high schoolers were deemed proficient.

District 16 is working to close the achievement gap between whites and students of color.

“There’s not a silver bullet with the achievement gap,” Ronneberg said.

The district will continue to look into individual learning needs for students and continue to build relationships with kids and teachers, he said.

“We want to see both ends of the spectrum continue to grow,” he said.

State’s proficient

Statewide, students are making steady gains on their science test scores.

Forty-six percent of fifth-grade students reached proficiency this year, compared with about 45 percent in 2009.

Eighth-graders increased their proficiency rates statewide by five percentage points from 43 percent in 2009 to 48 percent this year.

And high school students made gains of 2.3 percent from last year’s proficiency rate of 49.5 percent to this year’s rate of 51.8 percent.

A total of 178,500 Minnesota students in grades five, eight and high school took the science test in April. High school students take the test depending on the year they enroll in their science courses.

The science test measures student performance on Minnesota’s Academic Standards. The standards define what students should know and what they should be able to accomplish in a particular grade level. Academic standards are developed in partnership with Minnesota educators.

On the test, students were scored in one of four achievement levels: Does not meet standards, partially meets standards, meets standards or exceeds standards.  

A student is considered proficient if he or she meets or exceeds standards.

Reaching proficiency on the MCA-II science tests is not a graduation requirement.

Should a student fail to attain proficiency, he or she is not required to retake the test.

Science test results do not count toward meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP).

Conversely, schools finding themselves on the AYP list for the annual reading and math MCA-II tests could face penalties. (The AYP report is slated to be released next month.)

Parents will receive individual reports of the MCA-II science test scores in August.

For more information on the science tests, visit the Minnesota Department of Education’s website at www.education.state.mn.us.

Elyse Kaner is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it