Blair math scores meet AMO

Blair students satisfied the mathematics Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) for the 2004-2005 school year, as determined by the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) tests. According to Principal Phillip Gainous, Blair will not know whether it has met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) until it receives MSA reading scores.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, AYP is meant to measure school improvement and proficiency in both reading and mathematics. To make AYP, schools must meet the set AMO in both math and reading on the MSA in all racial and socio-economic subgroups. If a subgroup fails to meet the AMO on either test, the school does not meet AYP. Should Blair fail to meet AYP for a third consecutive year, the school will be placed on Maryland's "Corrective Action" list.

According the MCPS Department of Shared Accountability document "Helping Parents Understand AYP," while undergoing corrective action, school changes may include, but are not limited to: replacing school staff relevant to the failure to meet AYP, adopting a new curriculum, decreasing school-level management authority and extending the school day or year. If Blair continually fails to meet AYP during the corrective action period, the school then undergoes restructuring. However, should Blair make AYP for two consecutive years, the school will be removed from the improvement list, according to Gainous.

The AMO will rise every year until 2014, at which time 100 percent of students are expected to be proficient in reading and math. The AMO for this past year was 40.7 percent. Students taking the tests in 2006, however, will need to perform slightly better: The AMO for 2006 is set at 47.3 percent, according to MCPS Student Assessment Coordinator Daniel Curry-Corcoran.

Over the next few years, Corcoran expects the AMO to rise in all categories by about 8 to 9 percent. "The federal government told us that in the first few years [the AMO] would rise slowly," he said.

Estimating with confidence

In order to prevent small subgroups from negatively impacting a school's ability to meet AYP standards, MCPS uses the statistical error-prevention device known as a confidence interval. The confidence interval for each subgroup extends both above and below the AMO line in equal amounts. Larger subgroups have smaller confidence intervals because anomalies in the group have less of an impact on the overall pass rate. If a group scores within the confidence interval but below the AMO line, the group makes AYP, according to the 2005 Maryland Report Card. According to Gainous, the confidence interval does help in giving schools some leeway when assessing their students.

This year, the only Blair subgroup to score below the AMO line was the Special Education group, with an overall pass rate at the lower limit of their confidence interval (21.7 percent to 59.6 percent). In contrast to the relatively large confidence interval given to the Special Education subgroup, the African American interval only stretches from 32.2 percent to 49.1 percent. All Blair subgroups, with exception to Special Education, scored above the AMO line regardless of their confidence interval.

Working with the tests

Despite the cushion offered by statistical analysis, MCPS is still having problems with students passing the Algebra/Data Analysis MSA in high school. Although some Blair students take algebra during their high school career, numerous Blazers take the course during middle school. Approximately 75 percent of middle school students take algebra, and middle school MSA scores do not count toward high school AYP, resulting in a problem when assessing the mathematical aptitude of high school students, according to Corcoran. "AYP will only be based on 25 percent of students," he remarked. "AYP is supposed to be based on overall participation."

Corcoran noted that students taking algebra in high school are likely to find the subject more challenging, essentially making high school AYP based on the scores of students with lower math proficiencies. "A big part of the focus in MCPS is having a lot of middle school students taking and passing algebra," said Corcoran.

Regardless, Blair administration is continuing its efforts to improve student literacy while they wait for the MSA reading scores. "While we still have preparation for the test, our literacy incentive will put kids in a better position for the tests," said Gainous. "We understand that reading is the basis of everything."

Student literacy has a profound effect on standardized test scores in both reading and math, Gainous said. Blair administration has also established specific MSA and High School Assessment committees to examine the different areas of the test in order to better prepare students.

A consistent problem with the test scores, regardless of preparation efforts, is the amount of time it takes for schools to receive the scores. According to Gainous, the math scores were received on Wednesday, Aug. 24, relatively early compared to previous years. By knowing the test scores prior to the beginning of the academic year, school administration could start the semester "already knowing what we need to work on," said Gainous.