Hancock M.S. does well on MEAP tests

By KURT HAUGLIE, DMG Writer
HANCOCK — Part of being a student involves constant testing, and the results of those tests are not only important for the individual students, they’re important for their teachers, schools, school districts and intermediate school districts.

One of the tests students take is the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test, which measures proficiency for third- through eighth-grade students in reading, writing, math, social science and science, and Monica Healy, principal of Hancock Middle School, is excited students in the school have been improving in their MEAP scores for three years.

Healy said beginning with the 2005 MEAP tests, the state changed the structure of testing; third- through eighth-grade students take English/language arts and math; fifth- through eighth-grade students take science; and sixth-grade students take social science.

“Our scores have been steadily increasing over the last three years,” she said.

Healy said an aspect of MEAP testing she appreciates is the ability to track students as they move through a school.

“You can watch a class and see how they do,” she said.

In each testing category, Healy said, the state gives rankings of 1, 2, 3 and 4, with 4 being not proficient, 3 partially proficient, 2 proficient and 1 advanced.

“The state bases the (individual schools’) report card grade on the percentage of students who get 1s and 2s,” she said.

The Copper Country Intermediate School District has 14 schools, and Healy said Hancock Middle School generally did well on the 2007 MEAP tests ISD-wide, and among the four largest districts — Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and L’Anse — the middle school finished first in all grades and for all subjects. They also finished first or second among all ISD schools in several subjects.

In some categories and some grades there were 3s and 4s, Healy said, and she and the teachers are working to improve those.

“We’re concerned about the 3s and 4s because we want to get them to 1s and 2s,” she said.

All the schools in the ISD do well with the MEAP tests, Healy said.

“As an ISD we do very well (compared to the rest of) the Upper Peninsula,” she said.

In math on the 2007 MEAP tests, Healy said the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students ranked eighth, fourth and sixth, respectively ISD-wide, about which she and the school’s teachers are concerned, and they will be working to improve the math scores for next year’s MEAP.

By 2014, Healy said the state wants 100 percent of students to be 1 and 2 in every category, which she isn’t so certain can be obtained.

“It will be very hard to get every kid to 1 and 2,” she said. “It’s a good thing to strive for, but I don’t think it will be realized.”

Some students just aren’t successful at taking tests no matter how diligently they apply themselves, Healy said.

There are two reasons students at the school have been doing so well on the MEAP tests recently, Healy said.

The first part is academic with the students being informed about the changes on the test, and the teachers being well-prepared.

“We did a lot of professional development,” she said.

The second reason students are doing better on the MEAP test is environmental, Healy said.

“We tried real hard to be positive about the test,” she said. “I went to each classroom and challenged the kids to meet or beat ... the 2006 scores.”

Now that the test scores are trending upward, Healy said it’s up to her and the faculty to make certain it continues.

“We need to keep the positive atmosphere around here,” she said.



Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@mininggazette.com