Portland St. Patrick Catholic School

I frequently have individuals ask me about standardized testing at St. Patrick School.  I usually get asked about our test results as well as about the types of testing St. Patrick School students take each year.  Here are the answers to those questions:

What are the 2011 results of your high school Michigan Merit Exam (MME) and American College Test (ACT)?

Michigan Merit Exam (MME):

    Math    Reading    Science    Soc. Stud,    Writing

St. Patrick High School    80    72    88    96    72

State Totals    52    63    61    78    47

American College Test (ACT):

     Composite    English    Math    Reading    Science

St. Patrick High School:    22.1    21.7    21.9    21.7    22.4

State Totals:    19.3    18.3    19.5    19.2    19.8

Do your students always do this well on their standardized tests?

We closely monitor our test results with the goal that we are continuously improving each year and to ensure our test scores remain high.  As you can see in the charts below our test scores have seen minor fluctuations over the last four years, but have been consistently high. 

Michigan Merit Exam (MME)                   

Class Year:    Math    Reading    Science    Soc. Stud.    Writing

Class of 2009:    71.4    81    81    90.5    61.9

Class of 2010:    94.4    83.3    94.4    94.4    66.6

Class of 2011:    65    85    95    95    75

Class of 2012:    80    72    88    96    72

Class of 2012 State Avg.    52    63    61    78    47

American College Test

(ACT)

    Composite    English    Math    Reading    Science

Class of 2009:    21.4    20.7    22.2    21    21.3

Class of 2010:    22.3    20.2    22.7    23.9    22.4

Class of 2011:    22.1    22.1    20.4    22.4    22.9

Class of 2012:    22.1    21.7    21.9    21.7    22.4

Class of 2012 State Avg.    19.3    18.3    19.5    19.2    19.8

What other tests do your students take at St. Patrick School?

In May, seniors in advanced placement courses will take AP Exams.  Juniors take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) test in October each year as well as the MME and the ACT in the spring.  Freshmen take the PLAN test in November.  Students in grades 2 – 10 take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAPS) test in the fall, winter, and spring each year.

Why don’t St. Patrick School students take the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) Test?

The Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) has the schools in the Diocese take the MAPS test in lieu of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) Test.  MAPS test provides more feedback and allows for us to immediately identify any areas in need of improvement in our curriculum.  Also, this is a nationally norm referenced test which means our students are compared to students who take this test across the United States. 

Are there any upcoming changes in your testing program?

This year we are using the Northwest Evaluation Association MAPS tests that provide on-line testing for students in grades 2-10.  Our students will take these test three times a year.  Our teachers and students will receive immediate feedback so we have data which allows for immediate action.  We are also planning to have 7th grade students take the ACT Explore test each spring which will give us valuable feedback for students as they prepare for high school.

Many educators often lament the use of standardized testing.  I believe standardized testing is one way educators are held accountable to their community to make sure they are providing a quality education.  The test scores from the MAPS, ACT, MME and other tests are our report card. If we’re providing our students with a rigorous curriculum and are properly teaching from that curriculum, our report card will reflect it and our students will do well on these tests.

I have been extremely pleased with our annual “report cards.”  We will continue to monitor our data as we strive for continuous improvement. We must continue to set high expectations for our students as we know that approximately 95% of our students move on to higher education after graduation.