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M-STEP Results Show Student Learning Was Disrupted During Pandemic

The results of Michigan State Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) shows that student learning was disrupted during the pandemic. Test scores were lower as was the usual student participation. 

Kids third to eighth grade, and 11th, take the M-STEP. The number of students testing proficient or higher in Math went down compared to 2019. Six grade saw the biggest drop at 6.5% less students testing proficient or above. However, there were more 8th and 11th grade students with a proficient or higher score in ELA PSAT or SAT tests.

Baldwin Community Schools has historically seen lower tests scores. The school district has a 95% poverty level and 80% of students without access to internet.

“We were a partnership school because of testing levels prior to COVID,” says Superintendent of Baldwin Community Schools, J. Mark Parsons. “As a result, we have done a great deal of professional development. We’ve changed our English Language Arts for our elementary clear through fifth grade math texts and other things where we had areas that our students needed help.”

The Partnership Model aims to build district capacity to improve outcomes in chronically low-performing schools and districts by fostering a coalition of partners from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Intermediate School Districts (ISDs), and local communities.

Michigan Department of Education says the participation ranged from 64 to 72%, making it difficult to compare to other years. Students did not take the M-STEP in 2020 and testing in 2021 was optional depending on parents’ beliefs about how safe it was.

“I think that most educators across any level that you would talk with would agree that this was not a reliable environment and situation to put much credence.” says Parsons. “It’s interesting because we understood that there would be no harm held against any district for the test.”

Not every school experienced the drop in test scores.

“We were able to sustain our student performance in quite a few areas although we were challenged like everyone else last year,” says Cadillac Area Public Schools Superintendent, Jennifer Brown. “We are really excited about how our staff and our students worked to make sure our performance levels were sustained and improved in some areas. ”

CAPS was able to keep many of their students in the classroom. Only 600 students went virtual last year. Brown says a significant amount of virtual students opted out of M-STEP testing last school year but those that tested were representative of the student population demographics. She also says their district relies more on frequent internal assessments and allows for instructional shifts depending on where the kids are at.

“I think our commitment to that real data real time was  essential in us being able to move our kids forward last year,” says Brown. “We do that as a practice so we’re excited that the state test validated that effort. It didn’t happen by accident. Our kids and our staff worked really hard so we’re celebrating that and then we’re also celebrating knowing where we need to go from here so meeting our kids where they are.”

Students who took the test were more likely to be from districts that offered in person or hybrid learning. It was less likely that students of color, economically disadvantaged students or English learners would test. MDE says the students who historically test lower did not take the tests in the same numbers as higher achieving students.

To respond to unfinished learning, each district has a different approach. Many schools will be using the additional $6 billion in state and federal dollars, this year, to help with the rebound. Michigan has also taken steps to improve inequalities between school districts by allocating $17 billion to the 2022 state budget. The money aims to create more equality in per-student funding.

The M-STEP results were also released differently this year. Parsons says results are usually sent a week ahead of official release and embargoed for administrators. This usually allows for evaluation.

“We didn’t have that opportunity this year,” he says. “We only found out yesterday when they were released. And so we haven’t had our normal process of debriefing and and really evaluating how and where our students focus needs to be.”

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