West Bloomfield Scores on 2012 Michigan Merit Exam Exceed State Averages

Updated 1:50 p.m.

Some of the  scores from the 2012 Michigan Merit Exam (MME) may have taken a hit under new state scoring standards, but the district's 2012 scores, released Thursday, continue to outstrip state averages.

In West Bloomfield, growth was announced in reading and math, with a three-percentage point increase from 2011's score in reading from 62 to 65 and a two-percentage point increase in math from 42 to 44.

In West Bloomfield and across Michigan, students' scores took a hit in 2012 due to .

The new cut scores — which went into effect for the MME and Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) this year — are more rigorous than previous standards: Students now need to get roughly 65 percent of the answers correct to “pass” the state test, instead of the previous benchmark of 39 percent.

principal Tom Shelton pointed to last year's data, which had shown an eight-percentage point increase from 2010 to 2011 (under old cut scores). It's part of an obviously positive five-year trend upwards, Shelton said, which can be attributed to math practices tightly aligned to state common core cirriculum standards which work well.

According to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, the previous standard was based on the very basic knowledge that students needed in an industrial manufacturing economy — where students could get a high school diploma and get a good-paying job at a factory.

Those opportunities are mostly gone now, he said, with students needing at least a two-year community college education to compete in the technology-driven, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century.

However, based on adjusted cut scores, Flanagan said in a press release Thursday that the 2012 state averages show one-year gains in several subjects, especially reading and writing.

"The impact of having students engage in the rigorous Michigan Merit Curriculum is evident here,” said Flanagan. “When students have the benefit of learning higher-level subject material, more will become career- and college-ready and prepared for success."

Particularly, the overall data is positive for high school, according to Shelton, in light of the fact that alternative education students in the Oakland Opportunity Academy which were counted separately from the high school last year were counted with the high school population this year.

The MME, according to the Michigan Department of Education, assesses students in the eleventh grade based on Michigan high school standards. The test includes the ACT Plus Writing college entrance examination, along with other state proficiency tests.

Student performance falls into one of four categories: advanced, proficient, partially proficient and not proficient. Students must score either "proficient" or "advanced" to be considered proficient in that subject.

West Bloomfield 
(% proficient)

Note: 2011 scores are based on new cut scores.

West Bloomfield also saw a small decrease in the average ACT score in 2012, with the average score falling from 21.8 in 2011 to 21.4. The state average, meanwhile, jumped from 19.3 to 19.6 in 2012.

All data provided by the Michigan Department of Education.