School officials generally pleased with MME scores

Lakes area school districts have received a report on their students’ latest Michigan Merit Examination (MME) results, which indicate more students in the four districts met or exceeded state standards than those who failed to meet standards — with a few exceptions.

The MME assesses students in grade 11 and eligible students in grade 12 based on Michigan high school standards. It is administered each March, and consists of three components:

• ACT Plus Writing® college entrance examination;

• WorkKeys® job skills assessments in reading, mathematics, and “locating information;” and

• Michigan-developed assessments in mathematics, science, and social studies.

Huron Valley officials ‘feel good’ about scores

According to Superintendent Jackie Johnston, not only did most Huron Valley students surpass state averages on all five tests, they exceeded county scores in 4 out of 5 subjects — except for math, where they performed 2 percent lower.

“We feel good about our scores and our high proficiency rates,” Johnston said. “These don’t include our International Academy students, so really the numbers would have been higher. Credit should be given to our teachers, principals, and the families who bring their kids to school to learn everyday.

“If you compare our scores from (last year) we went up a couple points in science and writing, went down slightly in reading and social studies, and stayed the same in math, but both years show we have better scores than the state average,” said Board of Education President Sean Carlson.

He added that at-risk students performed better this year, which indicates an integrated approach in education.

“The gap between at-risk and non-risk students has closed,” Carlson said. “Proficient and advanced scores went up and that’s a sign of a good quality public school program.”

In social studies, 634 students met or surpassed state benchmarks, while 131 fell short.

Overall, Huron Valley students tested the weakest in math, as 445 students met or exceeded state standards compared to 318 students who did not.

Reading results show 544 students met or exceeded the state standards, with 223 falling short.

Likewise in science, 559 students met or exceeded state benchmarks compared to 206 that did not.

Lastly, in writing, 460 students met or surpassed state benchmarks compared to 308 who did not.

“We try to judge performance with what’s happening in the communities around us,” Carlson said. “We’re 24 out of 28 in per pupil funding in the county, but perform better than state and county averages, and consistently perform in the top 10 school districts.”

Most Walled Lake students met, exceeded standards

The Walled Lake Consolidated School District had 856 students who met or exceeded the math exam requirements, while 377 did not meet those requirements. For the reading exam, 882 met or exceeded expectations, and 354 students did not meet the requirements. A total of 846 students met or exceeded the requirements for the science portion of the exam, while 395 did not.

Walled Lake students did the best overall in social studies testing, with 970 students meeting or exceeding requirements. Another 267 did not meet those requirements.

The writing category was where the Walled Lake students performed lower overall, with 764 meeting or exceeding requirements and 484 students not meeting requirements.

Majority of Waterford students did well in most subjects

The Waterford School District saw a majority of its students meet or exceed MME proficiency levels in three of five subjects.

Waterford students’ best subject was social studies, with 653 students meeting or exceeding standards and 175 falling short.

In reading, 498 students met or exceeded standards while 329 did not. In science, 479 students met or exceeded standards while 345 did not.

However, in math testing, 326 students met or exceeded standards while 496 fell short. In writing, 357 students met or exceeded standards while 469 did not.

W. Bloomfield students did well in all subjects

The West Bloomfield School District saw most of its students meet or exceed MME standards in all five subjects.

West Bloomfield’s best subject was social studies, with 373 students meeting or exceeding standards and 86 falling short.

In reading, 323 students met or exceeded standards while 135 did not. In science, 315 students met or exceeded standards while 143 fell short.

In math, 315 students met or exceeded standards while 143 fell short. In writing, 286 students met or exceeded standards and 172 did not.

“We’re pleased with our scores and we still see room for growth,” said Dr. Robert Martin, the district’s assistant superintendent for instruction. “We have been pleased with our math scores and we’ve targeted writing and we’re seeing the fruits of our labor and what our teachers and administrators have done.”

He added that the district still wants to target reading and that district officials won’t be satisfied unless more than 95 percent of students are deemed proficiency through MME testing.