West Virginia’s standardized test scores from last year’s year disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic show progress slipping in every academic area.
The state’s superintendent of schools, Clayton Burch, warned against making direct comparisons to prior years because of all the challenges students faced. State board members, while reviewing the numbers, reached similar conclusions.
“Without a doubt, we know that such factors as participation rates, learning modes and learning disruptions over the past 18 months varied by school and likely affected student performance,” Burch stated in a release from the Department of Education.
“Our goal now is to use the results to focus on COVID-19 recovery efforts and address individual student needs.”
Schools across the state are gearing up for another year, with some hope of less disruption but also worries about a sharp increase in covid-19 cases. Policies about facial coverings have been left to individual counties. A state plan refines who would need to isolate in cases of covid exposure in schools, aiming to avoid sending home entire classes and instead focusing on individuals who have been exposed.
The statewide scores from last year indicate schools and students may have to focus on catching up. State officials noted that some students have not been in a brick-and-mortar school for 18 months.
“The information gained from these results is crucial for us moving forward to best support student learning and overall development,” state school board President Miller Hall said.
The state did not administer statewide summative assessments in 2020 because schools were shut down at the end of that year.
The test results released today were for grades 3 through 8 and grade 11.
The results showed 27 percent proficiency in science from the testing this past spring. Proficiency was 33 percent in the prior 2019 testing period.
The results showed 28 percent proficiency in mathematics. Proficiency was 39 percent in the prior 2019 testing period.
And tested West Virginia students scored 40 percent proficiency in English and language arts. The prior proficiency was 46 percent.
The state Department of Education said it would use the results to address learning gaps and improve individual student achievement throughout the state.
Situations in county school systems around the state may vary, said Vaughn Rhudy, director of assessment for the state.
“We encourage them to analyze their results carefully because each of them may have experienced the pandemic differently,” Rhudy said.
State board member Debra Sullivan also said students shouldn’t be viewed by their test scores, particularly under recent conditions.
“The results are much the same all over the world right now, which is not to make an excuse for it but it’s what we choose to do that will make a difference,” Sullivan said.
“Our children are more than scores, and we need to be looking at ways to celebrate and note what those are.”
She applauded students who embrace extracurricular activities, for example, and said students should not be regarded as just a number.
“I would hate to be defined by one little aspect of my existence and yet that’s what we do to our schools and our children,” Sullivan said.
Parents will receive an individual report that will detail a student’s performance along with summary information about aggregate performance at the school, district, and state levels. The results can provide helpful information about where their child is excelling as well as where they may need more support.
West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee, in public remarks made before the scores were released, was braced for criticism about the lower standardized testing scores.
Lee said counties should work with health officials and teachers to “get back into a grove” for students, even if that means masking for the start of a new year. He said counties know what is best. “Let’s focus on all the opportunities,” he said, “not just a single test score.”