Friday, September 16, 2016

2016 State Tests Were Our Best ...Ever!

Today is the release of the 2016 NeSA State Test Scores 
.....or at least part of them!

I'm just going to begin by saying that I've been frustrated (impatient is probably a better term) at the unusually long wait of the public release of the 2016 state test scores that were completed last spring. The Nebraska Department of Education finally agreed that September 16th would be the public release of the results of all four subjects, however a statement this week indicated that the Writing scores will be embargoed from public release until another review is complete.

(NDE Statement 9/15/16) Following inquiries from some school districts, the Nebraska Department of Education is confirming the accuracy of calculations of NeSA-Writing data.  Therefore, NeSA-Writing data will remain embargoed until the review is complete. 

Why have I been impatient to report the 2016 CHS State Test scores?

Because we had our best results ever!   Not only was Chadron High School's percentage of 'proficient' students higher than the state average in all four subjects (by double digits), but we had our highest scores ever recorded in three of the four subjects!
    • CHS has the 3rd highest Reading proficiency in the state!
      • (data embargoed)CHS currently has the 2nd highest Writing proficiency West of Omaha!
      • CHS has the 2nd highest Math and Science proficiency in the panhandle!


    Information about the Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA) tests: High school students are tested in four subjects (Writing, Reading, Math, and Science) during the spring of their junior year and results are provided in the fall. Students score into one of three categories on each test: ‘below standards’, ‘meets standards’, or ‘exceeds standards’.  Proficiency is calculated by combining the ‘meets standards’ and the ‘exceeds standards’. Parents will receive a report on their child's scores from the local school district later this fall. Detailed reports for schools and districts are available on the Nebraska Department of Education's homepage at www.education.ne.gov. Writing results are not available at this time.



    Here is a snapshot of the 2016 results:


    Writing
    While the Writing data is not released publicly until another review for accuracy is completed, I'll just report that current results show we had more students score at the 'proficient' level than ever. Much higher than the state average with many students obtaining perfect scores. Once NDE finishes another review, I'll update our final results.

    Reading
    Reading had a large increase compared to last year’s scores. 93% proficiency is the highest recorded at Chadron High School. Our overall proficiency was 10% higher than last year and  21% higher than the state average. In addition, it is exciting to see that 41% of our students scored in the ‘exceeds standards’ category with 6 perfect scores!!!
    Math
    Math is another subject with our highest-ever proficiency. We had 81% of our students test proficient which is 18% higher than the state average and 14% higher than our scores a year ago! Our 5 perfect scores were our most in this subject as well.
    Science
    Science has always been one of our highest proficiency subjects and the most consistent. Even though we had a 3% decrease from a year ago, the 84% proficiency is 10% above the state average.



    % Proficient
    Writing

    CHS
    State

    2012
    78
    62

    2013
    82
    69

    2014
    state data errors

    2015
    83
    76

    2016
    :)
                
    Reading




    2012
    90
    64

    2013
    87
    67

    2014
    79
    70

    2015
    83
    69

    2016
    93
    72
    Math




    2012
    79
    56

    2013
    73
    58

    2014
    78
    61

    2015
    67
    62

    2016
    81
    63
    Science




    2012
    87
    67

    2013
    86
    73

    2014
    86
    74

    2015
    87
    74

    2016
    84
    74