ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Public Schools today announced the preliminary results from the 2006 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests which reveal increases in achievement among middle and high school students. While the majority of the District’s middle and high schools show increases, elementary school scores declined.

“We obviously have a great deal of work to do to ensure that all of our students are performing at advanced and proficient levels,” said Dr. Diana Bourisaw, Interim Superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools. “The 2006 MAP scores make it clear that we must offer support, including professional development for teachers and more flexibility within curriculum programs, for teachers. We cannot continue to demand accountability without providing the necessary resources for teachers,” she said.
A review of the 2006 MAP scores by grade level reveals:

• In Grade 3, 25.8 percent of students scored at the advanced and proficient levels in Communication Arts, a decrease of 9.4 percent from the previous year.
• In Grade 4, Mathematics scores dropped 15.8% in the number of students scoring at advanced or proficient levels.
• In Grade 7, the Communication Arts combined advanced and proficient performance level percentage was 15.2%, an increase of 4.2%
• In Grade 7 Communication Arts, 17 of 21 (80.9%) of the middle schools experienced increases in the top two levels.
• In Grade 8, there was an increase in Mathematics with 12.8 percent of students scoring advanced or proficient, up 4.6% from last year.
• In Grade 8 Mathematics, 15 of 21 (71.4%) of the middle schools experienced increases.• In Grade 10, Mathematics scores averaged 13.2% in the top two performance levels, an increase of 9.7% from last year.
• Communication Arts scores at Grade 11 averaged 17.9%, an 11.7% increase from the previous year.
• In Grade 10 Mathematics, 10 of 11 (90.9%) of the high schools experienced small increases in the number of students testing as proficient or advanced.
• In Grade 11 Communication Arts, all 12 of the high schools experienced increases in the advanced and proficient levels.

“While the official results from the State of Missouri will not be available until November, these preliminary numbers suggest three elementary schools previously identified as “Needs Improvement” by DESE may have made enough gains in student achievement to be removed from that status,” Bourisaw said.

The MAP measures academic standards and determines the level to which schools enable students to become proficient. The tests are scored on proficiency standards of Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic. The levels of Advanced/Proficient scores are used to determine each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) required by the Federal No Child Left Behind law. New for 2006 was that all students in Grades 3-8 were tested in both Communication Arts and Mathematics. High school testing remained the same as previous years with 10th graders tested in Mathematics and 11th graders tested in Communication Arts.

As a result of the changes in the testing of student performance, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) discourages the comparison of the 2006 data to the test results of previous years.

“All St. Louis students must be given the fundamentals they need in order to demonstrate proficient performance in communication arts, math, and science. We must align our investments in curriculum and professional development for all grades,” said Veronica O’Brien, President of the Board of Education. “It is clear that a top-down approach to curriculum development did not empower teachers to teach, or help students achieve,” she said.
The MAP score information is preliminary, as the Federal government requires the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to provide districts a 30-day appeal process. Final determinations of MAP data and Adequate Yearly Progress will be made by DESE in November.

EDITOR’S NOTE: 2006 MAP graphs are attached.