Dec 03, 2021

St. Joseph school officials encouraged by test scores, for the most part

Posted Dec 03, 2021 7:00 PM

By BRENT MARTIN and MATT PIKE

St. Joseph Post

Overall, St. Joseph school officials are encouraged by state tests scores, with one nagging exception.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released district data from the 2020-21 Missouri Assessment Program, including test results by building.

St. Joseph elementary school students, Grades 4 through 7, improved in English Language Arts. St. Joseph 5th Graders increased their proficiency rate in Science by nearly 5%, nearly a full percentage point better than the state average. Eighth Graders posted stronger scores in Math. The strongest improvement is seen in 5th Grade Science as well as 4th Grade and 7th Grade English Language Arts.

The true trouble spot comes in Algebra, which saw the biggest drop in test scores among St. Joseph students as well as students statewide.

Director of School Improvement, Kendra Lau, says the district is working on improving all scores.

“For example, if we take Algebra I,” Lau tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “Not only have we implemented a new curriculum that was actually approved by our Board of Education last spring, but we have also focused heavily on the training of our curriculum and the resources that go with that curriculum.”

Scores fell in Biology and English 2 as well.

Lau says improving test scores requires a lot of focused, intense work.

“It has to do with training. It has to do with implementation of resources. It has to do with consistently looking at data to understand how to adjust instruction and being clear about what priority standards we are really looking at,” according to Lau.

ACT scores posted by St. Joseph students have improved over the past four years. The St. Joseph School District average ACT score of 21.6 is higher than the state. The participation rates among St. Joseph students held steady, despite the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lau is pleased St. Joseph had a high participation rate in the Missouri Assessment Program.

“We when look at our MAP scores, we only had .3% of the population that wasn’t tested and that’s not true statewide,” Lau points out.

A trouble spot reemerges for the St. Joseph School District. Attendance fell in 2021 after improvement in that difficult area, seemingly an outgrowth of the chaotic period created by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We were near 90% attendance in 2018. In 2021, we were at 75% attendance,” Lau says. “And that is something that we are looking at right now. That trend is continuing into 2021-22.”