2009 Statewide DSTP Test Results Released in Grades 2-10
(Dover, De.) Test scores of Delaware students in grades 2-10 continue to stabilize in reading and mathematics, according to results of the March 2009 Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) released today by Secretary of Education Lillian M. Lowery.
"In both mathematics and reading, we continue to see a leveling off of students meeting or exceeding the standards," said Secretary of Education Lillian M. Lowery. "Across the board in math, we saw five grades increase, three grades remain constant and one grade that dropped slightly." Added Secretary Lowery, "These data indicate that our students and teachers are realizing positive results. Our goal is to ensure that our schools have the support needed to continue on the path to excellence."
The results are as follows:
Mathematics: At grades 2-5, students meeting or exceeding the standard ranges from 87% in grade 2 to 77% in grade 5. In grades 6-8, middle school student scores range from 75% in grade 6 to 66% in grade 8. At the high school level, grade 9 student scores increased to 55% while grade 10 student scores decreased slightly to 56%.
Comparing test scores to last year's results, 78% of children tested in the third grade met the standard - a one percentage point gain from the scores of last year's third graders. In the fifth grade, 77% of students tested met the standard, also a one percentage point increase from last year's scores. The proportion of this year's eighth grade students meeting or exceeding the standard is at 66%, which is a one percentage point increase over last year's eighth graders, while in the tenth grade, 56% performed at or above standard, two percentage points lower than the tenth graders of 2008.
Reading: In grades 2-5, the trend is that 83% of students statewide are meeting the standard in reading. At the middle school grades, students are scoring at 83% while at the high school grades, the range of scores is between 72%.
Comparing this year's test score results to last years, 81% of third grade students who took the DSTP met or exceeded the standard, a one percentage point decrease from 2008. Fifth grade reading performance increased to 85%, a one percentage decrease from 2008. Eighty-one percent of eighth grade students tested met or exceeded the reading standard, the same results from last year. In the tenth grade, the proportion of students meeting or exceeding the standard also remained constant at 71%.
Writing: In 2009, only three grades were tested: 5, 8 and 10. In grade 5, writing scores of students who met or exceeded the standard declined slightly to 60%, a two percentage point decrease from 2008. At grade 8, the middle school grades, grade 8 students scored at 78%, a three percentage point decline from 2008. At the high school level, grade 10 students scored at 84%, a three percentage point increase from last year. The writing assessment consists of two items: a stand alone prompt to which students respond and a text based item which asks students to read a passage and write a response to a specific question.
Delaware students in grades 2-10 once again participated in the nationally-normed Stanford Achievement Test, 10th Edition (SAT 10). Comprising nearly 1/3 of the questions on the DSTP exams in reading and math, the SAT 10 allows Delaware to compare test results against students in the same grade across the country who took the same test and shows the percentage of Delaware students who scored as well as or better than other students throughout the nation.
In math at grades 2-5, rankings ranged from 64% to 75%; in grades 6-8, rankings ranged from 67% to 75%; and in grades 9 and 10, rankings ranged from 77% to 71% respectively. In reading, rankings in grades 2-5 ranged from 68% to 80%; in grades 6-8, rankings ranged from 66% to 75%; and in grades 9 and 10, students leveled off at 72% respectively.
The public access website opens at 1:00 p.m. today. School personnel, parents, policy makers, and the media are encouraged to visit DOE's web site at http://www.doe.k12.de.us/aab to look at data pertinent to them and to their schools.
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Contact Info.
Alison Kepner Delaware Department of Education 401 Federal Street, Suite #2 Dover, Delaware 19901 Phone: (302) 735-4035 Fax: (302) 739-4654 Email: akepner@doe.k12.de.us |
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