TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma student proficiency rates are down slightly in almost every grade and subject in the second year of higher academic standards, according to state test results.
The 2018 Oklahoma School Testing Program results found that student proficiency on the seventh-grade math test was the only unchanged rate, The Tulsa World reported .
Third-grade proficiency in English and language arts dropped from 39 percent last year to 33 percent this year, while seventh-grade proficiency in those subjects also dropped from 34 percent to 28 percent. Sixth-grade math proficiency fell seven points to 28 percent.
The highest rate of student proficiency was 41 percent in both third-grade math and fifth-grade science.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said the state is focused on measuring student growth year over year instead of proficiency rates from a single test.
"Assessments, including state tests, are a snapshot of learning and a checkpoint for instructional decisions," she said. "Student success is best measured through sustained, long-term learning, not solely by performance on a test or series of tests. The focus now is growth, in establishing deep roots grounded in superior academic standards."
New standards and tests were implemented in the 2016-17 school year after Oklahoma dropped Common Core standards.
State education leaders predicted that there would be an initial drop in student performance on state tests following the transition. It may take years before scores improve because teachers must adjust to teaching to a new set of standards, officials said.
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
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