4th and 8th Graders Show Steady 5-Year Progress on State Assessments

For Immediate Release
Friday, June 28, 2002

4th and 8th Graders Show Steady 5-Year Progress on State Assessments

Madison Students Continue to Surpass National Peers on all tests, grades

Scores for 4th and 8th grade students in the proficiency and advanced proficiency ranges (the two highest achievement categories) have advanced steadily in all tests - except 8th grade science -- during the five years the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE) has been administered in Wisconsin.

Nearly 5,900 Madison students in 4th, 8th and 10th grades took the WKCE in February of this year. Test subjects include: reading, language arts, science, math and social studies. The tests consist of short answers and multiple-choice questions. Students are also required to write an essay in the 4th and 8th grades.

The 5-year improvement for 4th graders ranged from a 14% increase in math (56% in 1998 to 70% in 2002) and a 17% improvement in social studies (62% in 1998 to 79% in 2002), to a 4% increase in language arts (70% in 1999 - there was no language arts test given in 1998 - to 74% in 2002). Tests in science and reading saw 10% increases from 1998 (science, 66% in 1998 to 76% in 2002; reading, 70% in 1998 to 80% in 2002).

Madison 8th graders also showed 5-year improvement on all tests except science, where 61% were proficient/advanced both this year and in 1998. Other tests results were: reading, 68% in 1998 to 79% in 2002; language arts, 69% in 1999 to 74% in 2002; mathematics, 43% in 1998 to 52% in 2002; and, social studies, 73% in 1998 to 81% in 2002.

Testing experts consider standardized exams to be a one-time snapshot of a student's proficiency that should be one of a variety of assessments used to gauge a student's academic ability, or the performance of a specific school or school district. Madison students consistently perform higher than the national norm group on all tests and at all grade levels - 4th, 8th and 10th.

The statistics in this release are based on those students eligible for testing and in the school district for at least one academic year and does not include students for which the state allows exemptions, such as English as a Second Language students, or those with certain cognitive disabilities. However, state statistics for the WKCE include all students enrolled in a district, regardless of whether they take the test or not.

WKCE 2002 MMSD
Students In This District Full Academic Year/Percent Eligible

			Proficient	Advanced	Proficient + Advanced
Grade 4	Reading	1998	57	13	70
		1999	56	22	78
		2000	58	20	78
		2001	61	18	79
		2002	57	23	80
Grade 4	Language Arts	1998	NA	NA	NA
		1999	39	31	70
		2000	42	28	70
		2001	39	24	63
		2002	38	36	74
Grade 4	Mathematics	1998	34	22	56
		1999	37	35	72
		2000	38	37	75
		2001	44	24	68
		2002	39	31	70
Grade 4	Science	1998	51	15	66
		1999	52	32	84
		2000	56	30	86
		2001	47	24	71
		2002	55	21	76
Grade 4	Social Studies	1998	47	15	62
		1999	37	44	81
		2000	43	42	85
		2001	43	32	75
		2002	39	40	79

WKCE 2002 MMSD
Students In This District Full Academic Year/Percent Eligible

			Proficient	Advanced	Proficient + Advanced
Grade 8	Reading	1998	46	22	68
		1999	49	22	71
		2000	51	25	76
		2001	43	33	76
		2002	54	25	79
Grade 8	Language Arts	1998	NA	NA	NA
		1999	35	34	69
		2000	38	37	75
		2001	37	32	69
		2002	46	28	74
Grade 8	Mathematics	1998	26	17	43
		1999	27	21	48
		2000	27	24	51
		2001	27	20	47
		2002	30	22	52
Grade 8	Science	1998	37	24	61
		1999	42	22	64
		2000	47	21	68
		2001	41	24	65
		2002	42	19	61
Grade 8	Social Studies	1998	37	36	73
		1999	35	43	78
		2000	39	42	81
		2001	37	44	81
		2002	39	42	81

WKCE 2002 MMSD
Students In This District Full Academic Year/Percent Eligible

			Proficient	Advanced	Proficient + Advanced
Grade 10	Reading	1998	31	34	65
		1999	34	35	69
		2000	35	34	69
		2001	29	42	71
		2002	31	34	65
Grade 10	Language Arts	1998	NA	NA	NA
		1999	42	21	63
		2000	42	22	64
		2001	35	28	63
		2002	38	28	66
Grade 10	Mathematics	1998	30	19	49
		1999	31	17	48
		2000	29	22	51
		2001	29	26	55
		2002	26	23	49
Grade 10	Science	1998	35	15	50
		1999	43	11	54
		2000	46	10	56
		2001	29	29	58
		2002	33	19	52
Grade 10	Social Studies	1998	29	39	68
		1999	31	40	71
		2000	30	41	71
		2001	32	42	74
		2002	30	37	67

WKCE 2002 MMSD
Percent of All Students At the Proficient + Advanced Proficiency Levels

4TH Grade
Content	MMSD	WISCONSIN	NATION
Reading	73	79	65
Language Arts	67	73	60
Mathematics	63	69	55
Science	68	77	65
Social Studies	71	82	66
8th Grade
Reading	73	74	53
Language Arts	70	70	51
Mathematics	48	44	24
Science	57	60	44
Social Studies	76	80	60
10th Grade
Reading	58	60	42
Language Arts	59	62	39
Mathematics	44	43	20
Science	46	48	32
Social Studies	60	65	50

Madison Metropolitan School District

Public Information Office
545 W. Dayton St.
Madison, WI 53703
608-663-1879
email: newsrelease@madison.k12.wi.us

Last Modified: 2002-07-01
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