Decreased Daleville Aspire scores “owned” by the officials, positive changes ahead

The Alabama State Department of Education has released the results of the 2015 ACT Aspire assessments. The scores for Daleville City Schools show a decline in readiness overall, but officials say the individual student scores (not available for public access) show improvement and things will continue to get better.

“We are actually making progress,” said Chris Mitten, Windham Elementary School (WES) principal. “We are concerned about it as we’ve not made as much progress as we’d like. We have made instructional changes (and still are) to address the scores. However, we had expected to see an implementation dip in the scores.

“We understand what the scores look like, but the reality is we are working on it, we are moving in the right direction. These scores were taken from one test on one day of 180 days in the school year. Scores will improve and improvement will be in the coming years…Alot of students, as individuals, are improving. Our job is to get them to the next level. It’s a process…We are never satisfied.”

Mitten said a look at individual students’ scores show increases in math and in reading. He said the school has increased training of its staff, made some personnel changes and is using “targeted instruction to get students where they need to be.”

Mitten said that through further evaluation of the scores school officials have determined that some of the issues with math and reading were coming from the kindergarten, first and second grade levels (students are not tested with Aspire until third grade). As a result of those discoveries, changes in personnel and mode of instruction have been made. “The fruits of those changes will be seen in the years to come…two to three years down the road. Again, it’s a process.”

The test is given in the spring, near the end of the school year. The Aspire tests are aligned with the Alabama College and Career-Ready Standards (Alabama’s version of Common Core). Some 329,233 students statewide took the test in the spring of 2015. Primarily, students in grades three through eight are testing in reading and math. Fifth and seventh graders were tested in science for the first time in 2014-2015, so there is no year to year comparison available for that subject. However, for reading and math, scores fall into one of three levels: ready, close, or in need of support.

According to the Alabama State Board of Education website, “Overall, roughly one-third to one-half of students tested as proficient on the Aspire tests, which means at or above grade level” which is still considered low but also a point from which to build.

Mitten and the news release from the state board of education both remind the public that “students and teachers are more than test scores.”

To look at the Aspire results and download comparison reports, go to www.alsde.edu.