Changing "Cut Scores" Means a Change in State Expectations

At North or expectations for student achievement have never been about achieving proficiency on state standardized tests. We believe that our students can, and should, surpass the state proficiency standards. Michigan has made the decision to change the "cut scores" on its state standardized tests, effectively raising the bar in terms of what is considered "passing".


Imagine for instance, that you are a student in a course and the teacher tells you at the beginning of the year that 60% is a passing score. You, as a student, have higher expectations for yourself, and determine that 80% is your minimum. Nevertheless, midway through the term, the teacher changes his mind and tells you that in order for you to be ready for the next course in the sequence, you need to score at least an 85 and that is his new passing score. Your 80, which was previously higher than necessary to pass, is no longer passing. That example is analogous to what Michigan has done - the state has changed what is considered proficient (or passing) on the MEAP and MME tests. The state has determined (rightly in my opinion), that we need to hold students at all levels to the standard of college readiness, and has scaled scores all the way down to 3rd grade in terms of what score means a student is on track to be college ready when they graduate from high school.

The immediate result of this change in cut scores will be schools reporting achievement results that are significantly lower than in past years. This change will be more dramatic at the elementary and middle school levels where the cut scores have been historically much lower than at the high school level. Nevertheless, high schools will also see a reduction.

At the high school level, the most dramatic differences will be in math and science. On average, if we applied the new cut scores to last year's tests, we would have between 25 and 34% fewer students demonstrating proficiency in math, science and social studies.

State proficiency test scores are intended to give schools, students and parents an indicator as to where a student is at a given point in time. We use this data to find focus areas for improvement, and to ensure all of our students are ready for college. North has led the district, and been a leader in the state and in the country in innovative programming for struggling learners. Our challenge is growing, and we are determined to meet the new expectations and exceed them as we have done in the past.


The result of these changes is that some Grosse Pointe students who exceeded the previous proficiency standards, will be found deficient under the new cut scores. At North, we believe in raising the bar, and know that our students and teachers will rise to meet new challenges. While we will see initial dips in proficiency percentages, we share the state's belief that setting high standards yields results, and we will continue to work to ensure all students are college ready.

If you have questions about the state's new cut scores, or about state standardized testing, please don't hesitate to contact me, or any member of our administrative team.