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West Virginia student test scores see modest gains but remain below pre-COVID levels

CHARLESTON — West Virginia students are making slow but steady improvements in math and reading scores, but proficiency still remains below pre-COVID-19 scores.

The West Virginia Department of Education presented the results of the Statewide Summative Assessment for the 2023-2024 school year to the state Board of Education at their monthly meeting Wednesday.

The Statewide Summative Assessment looks at proficiency in math, English Language Arts and science. The results consist of the General Summative Assessment for grades three through eight, the SAT School Day Test for high school juniors and the Alternative Summative Assessment for grades three through eight and grade 11. There was a 95% participation rate among the grades tested.

According to the overall results calculated across all grades for the prior school year, 36% of students tested were proficient in math, up from 35% in the 2022-23 school year and 33% in 2021-22 school year. There was no testing in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but during the 2020-21 school year, where the first half of the school year was subject to school closing and virtual learning, math proficiency dropped from 39% in the pre-COVID 2018-19 school year to 28%.

ELA proficiency last school year was at 45%, up from 44% in 2022-23 and 42% in 2021-22. Pre-COVID ELA proficiency was 46% in 2018-19, dropping to 40% in 2020-21. Science proficiency remained flat at 29% for the 2023-2024 and 2022-23 school years. Science proficiency was 28% for 2020-21 and 2021-22, but 33% in the pre-COVID school year.

Drilling down into math proficiency, 18.1% of students tested in the 2023-24 school year exceeded standards, up from 17.2% in the prior school year; 17.4% of students met math standards, down from 17.9%; 29.5% of students partially met standards, down from 30.2%; and 35% of students did not meet standards, up from 34.7% the prior school year.

In ELA, 17.2% of students exceeded standards in the 2023-2024 school year, up from 16.1% the prior year; 27.9% of students met standards last year, up from 27.5%; 28.1% of students partially met standards last year, down from 28.3%; and 26.8% of students did not meet standards, down from 28.1% in the prior year.

But state education officials said they are seeing improvements in math and ELA proficiency in third grade thanks to legislation passed nearly two years ago and programs put in place by the Department of Education. According to the department, ELA proficiency in third grade jumped by 6%, while the percentage of third-grade students who did not meet math proficiency dropped by 7%.

“This is attributed, in part, to the passing of the Third Grade Success Act during the 2023 state legislative session and the WVDE’s Ready, Read, Write, West Virginia literacy initiative,” the department said in a press release Wednesday. “The data reflects student proficiency approaching pre-COVID-19 levels, and the WVDE remains engaged with counties, schools, stakeholders and state leaders to support student academic success.”

The Third Grade Success Act, House Bill 3035, required the state Board of Education to develop screeners and benchmark assessments in ELA and math for students in kindergarten through third grade, as well as a multi-tiered system of support for students exhibiting substantial reading or math deficiencies to ensure students are proficient before moving past the third grade. The bill also allowed for teacher aides and interventionists in early elementary classrooms up to third grade.

At the end of 2022, the Department of Education launched Ready, Read, Write West Virginia. The program focuses on the science of reading and phonics education, with resources for families, school administrators and teachers. According to the department, new math standards were rolled out to schools on July 1. The department is also introducing its new “Unite with Numeracy” program to improve math proficiency.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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