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NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. – Hancock County students outperformed their statewide counterparts on the newest West Virginia standardized test, according to preliminary results being sent to parents this week.
Although Hancock County student scores were higher than state averages for several grade levels and subject areas, some were either equal to or lower than the state, said Director of Student Services Andrea Dulaney.
“I think we’re off to a good start. … We’re looking forward to improvement,” Dulaney told the Hancock County school board earlier this week.
In her report to the board, Dulaney said the computer-based test taken by students last spring, known as the General Summative Assessment, is different from the WESTEST2. Thus, the students had a learning curve in being able to handle the mechanics of the test.
“There’s a lot of just computer skills that they have to learn too. I think once they learn through their practice test how to navigate it, and they become more familiar with the setup, it will be much easier for them,” she said.
Students will have the opportunity to take the practice test, with sample questions, later this school year.
Dulaney said the General Summative Assessment was taken by students in grades 3 through 11 in the subjects of English/language arts and math. Students in grades 4, 6 and 10 also took a test to measure science proficiency.
Because the new test replaced the WESTEST2, the English and math tests represent a new starting point for student performance and should not be compared to previous test scores, she said.
“The new scores are setting a new, more accurate baseline from which progress can be measured moving forward,” she said.
The results of the General Summative Assessment are the first to measure students’ progress toward the goals set in the Next Generation Content Standards, which represent West Virginia’s adaptation of the Common Core standards.
Dulaney said the preliminary numbers show that in Hancock County:
* Third-graders did better than the state in English/language arts and math.
* Fourth-graders did better than the state in English/language arts and math, and performed equal to the state in science.
* Fifth-graders scored below the state average in English/language arts and math.
* Sixth-graders scored below the state in English/language arts and science, and higher than the state in math.
* Seventh-graders did better than the state in English/language arts and math.
* Eighth-graders did better than the state in English/language arts and math.
* Freshmen scored below the state in English/language arts and higher than the state in math.
* Sophomores performed equal to the state in English/language arts and math, and above the state average in science.
* Juniors scored below the state in English/language arts and above the state average in math.
In English/language arts and math, students are ranking according to four levels: 4 indicates the student exceeded the standard, 3 indicates the student met the standard, 2 indicates the student nearly met the standard, and 1 indicates the student did not meet the standard.
For science, students are still measured according to the following designations: distinguished, above mastery, mastery, partial mastery and novice.
Board President Jerry Durante said making the transition to the new test was difficult for students and teachers, considering that the state legislature was debating changes to the test as late as March.
“The teachers are to be commended because this was a radical departure from the WESTEST2,” he said. “They didn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare.”