DOVER, Del.— Delaware students have improved in math and reading skills since last year, according to test scores released by the 2012 Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System Thursday.
The Delaware Department of Education said the number of Delaware children proficient in both reading and math has increased by more than 9,000 since last year, with student proficiency increasing across all grades, subjects, and some major subgroups.
"Those are the numbers that mean the most to me—the additional children who are completing the academic year with the learning and understanding they need to be successful," Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said. "This success is the result of the combined effort of the students who studied hard and the parents and educators who supported them. While our collective work is far from done, this is something to celebrate."
Scores are up since a previous state-wide assessment this past June but DDOE officials said the discrepancies result from reporting changes. June data reflected the score on the last test a student took, regardless of whether or not they took an optional second test provided for educators and students to focus on areas that needed more work. State officials believed the last, and not best, test score provided a more accurate comparison with scores from 2011 when students were not offered a second testing opportunity.
Thursday's scores aligned with federal and state reporting requirements and were based on the highest score of the two tests. DDOE officials said this method provided a better snapshot of current student performance and revealed student proficiency rates to be between two and seven percentage points higher than those reported in June using the last test score.
According to the DDOE, challenges remain as science and social studies scores did not improve as much as reading and math scores and results showed achievement gaps between underrepresented subgroups and their peers.
DDOE officials said they plan to address some of the biggest challenges in the coming year, including increasing the proficiency of students with disabilities and focusing on greater gains in science and social studies among middle school and high school students.
