The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently released the 2017 district-level Missouri Assessment Program results.
Third- through eighth-grade students take tests in English language arts and math. Fifth- and eighth-grade students receive end-of-course assessments in science. There are also social studies and high school biology tests.
Callaway County school districts - Fulton 58, New Bloomfield R-3, North Callaway R-1 and South Callaway R-2 - had mixed results compared to Missouri's overall scores and previous years. Scores reflect the combined percentages of students scoring "proficient" or "advanced" on each test.
Fulton 58
Fulton schools' third- through fifth- and eighth-graders outscored state averages in math this year. Sixth-graders showed the largest gap, with about 6 percent fewer scoring proficient or advanced than at the state level.
Math scores have increased in most grades since 2016.
Students did not fare as well in English, with most grades scoring lower than both state and 2016 scores. Sixth- through eighth-grade students scored the lowest relative to state scores, at 9.2, 8.3 and 5.7 percent below, respectively. However, fourth- and fifth-graders beat state scores.
In science, students in fifth and eighth grades and biology classes improved their scores since 2016, with eighth-grade students outscoring the state average.
New Bloomfield R-3
In English language arts, New Bloomfield students scored an average of 4 percent lower than the state across the board. However, scores in the subject improved by an average of 3.6 percent since 2016 across grade levels.
In math, fourth-, fifth- and seventh-graders scored close to state averages, and eighth-graders exceeded them by 25.5 percent. Other grades lagged significantly behind. Sixth-graders and algebra-2 students showed the biggest gaps, at 19 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively.
Science scores diverged significantly from state averages only in fifth grade, at about 10.8 percent lower. This represented a 5-percent drop from 2016.
North Callaway R-1
North Callaway students scored uniformly under the state average in third- through eighth-grade math. On average, 16.3 percent fewer North Callaway students scored proficient or advanced than at the state level.
In eighth grade, no students scored proficient or average in the math assessment, versus 30.5 percent at the state level.
One highlight: Fourth-graders improved scores, with 20.3 percent more scoring proficient or advanced than in 2016.
Likewise, in English language arts, North Callaway students scored below the state average in all grades - by an average of 16 percent. However, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders improved their scores compared to 2016. Fifth-graders saw the biggest jump, with 7.2 percent more scoring proficient or advanced.
North Callaway students scored below the state average in fifth- and eighth-grade science; however, they exceeded the state average by 0.3 percent in high school biology.
South Callaway R-2
South Callaway students exceeded in math, scoring above the state average by at least 4.5 percent across all grade levels. On average, 10.7 percent more students in grades three through eight scored proficient or advanced in math than statewide.
Most grades also improved their scores compared to 2016.
In English, likewise, most grades outscored the state average, with only fourth and seventh grade lagging. All grades improved their scores compared to 2016, by an average of 11.8 percent.
Students also scored above the Missouri average and their 2016 scores in all science categories.