A few weeks ago the 2021 RICAS Results were released statewide. Before you get sucked into the clickbait of sensational headlines like, “RICAS Scores Plummet during Pandemic”, take a moment to remember:
1.)There is so much more to this story than plummeting test scores.
2.)Take a walk on the positive side.
Let’s start with what we know:
It is important to set the stage for these scores and ground ourselves in a little reality before we talk about anything plummeting.
Here’s what we know:
- There was no state test in 2020, so the results we’re comparing are Pre-Pandemic (2019) and Mid-Pandemic (2021).
- Not only did we experience a full virtual trimester in Spring 2020, we also experienced lots of “The Covid Effect” in the 2020-2021 school year with quarantines, distance learners, anxiety, restrictions, etc.
- At Compass, between 2019 and 2021 we significantly expanded our middle school with the opening of the barn, bringing our middle school enrollment from 80 students to 120 students.
When one takes all of this context into consideration, it’s not a surprise that scores would fall in 2021.
Let’s look at the data:
The data shows that Compass dipped, but not nearly as much as feared.
Our 2019 ELA compared with our 2021 ELA
The following data points stick out :
- Our average scale score fell, but only by 3 points.
- Our average scale score still “meets expectations”.
- Our percent meeting/exceeding expectations fell by almost 10 percent
Our 2019 Math compared with our 2021 Math
The following data points stick out :
- Our average scale score fell, but only by 3 points.
- Our average scale score just shy of “meets expectations”.
- Our percent meeting/exceeding expectations fell by 8 percent. It’s a big deal that we held on to as much math achievement as we did.
Compared To What?
Looking at only Compass data in a vacuum doesn’t make much sense, so we put our numbers up against the Big 6 Sending Districts in our area. This compares our results to the schools that most of your kiddos would have gone to if you hadn’t chosen Compass when you got “the call”.
ELA Data Comparison
- We were the only school to have a significant increase in enrollment, which is known to distort achievement data.
- In terms of average scale score, we took 2nd place out of 7, right behind NK by only one point.
- In terms of the fewest number of students falling into the “Not Meeting Expectations” category, we took 1st place.
- In terms of the greatest number of students falling into the “Exceeds Expectations” category, we took 2nd place, just a few percent behind NK.
- In terms of the percent of students “Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, we took 2nd place, right behind…you guessed it..NK (kudos to them!)
Math Data Comparison
- Again, we were the only school to have a significant increase in enrollment, which is known to distort achievement data.
- In terms of average scale score, we took 2nd place out of 7, right behind NK by only one point.
- In terms of the fewest number of students falling into the “Not Meeting Expectations” category, we took 1st place.
- In terms of the greatest number of students falling into the “Exceeds Expectations” category, we took 2nd place, less than one percent behind NK.
- In terms of the percent of students “Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, we took 2nd place, right behind…you guessed it..NK (kudos to them)
You’ll notice that our Math stats are pretty much identical to our ELA stats!
We took 1st or 2nd place in every category in both ELA and Math when matched up against of biggest 6 sending districts! Where we took 2nd place, it was not by much.
Looking At Growth
We haven’t spent too much time in the past talking about growth scores, but they are super relevant and really interesting. A student’s growth score tells us what kind of progress he/she has made since the last time he/she took the test. A student’s growth score measures that student’s progress compared to themselves, not compared to a standard score or others in a cohort.
The 2021 data only has growth scores for the current 6th-8th graders because the current 4th and 5th graders didn’t take RICAS prior to 2021 due to the 2020 testing lapse. That being said, look at our 2021 growth compared to our 2019 growth
Check it out!
ELA Growth
- ELA: 66% of Compass kids registered typical or high growth in 2021!
- We took 1st place in the average growth percentile category!
- We took 1st place in the high growth category with 39% of our kids significantly improving their score compared to the last time they took the test, even though the last time they took it was BEFORE the pandemic!
Math Growth
- Math: 72% of Compass kids registered typical or high growth in 2021!
- We took 1st place in the average growth percentile category!
- We took 1st place (by a landslide) in the high growth category with 41.5% of our kids significantly improving their score compared to the last time they took the test, even though the last time they took it was BEFORE the pandemic!
A Moment of Reflection
There was a “pandemic plummet” – here’s the thing, we predicted that a LONG time ago…like March 2020. That is not news. What is news is our Compass story about overcoming significant hardship and having quite a bit to show for it. However, we have a pretty good “compared to what” that suggests that we’re making the right moves and that we have been all along. Our hole is not nearly as deep as some others because of all of our work! What’s more, we’re coming out of this experience stronger than ever before. Bring on the rest of the 2021-2022 school year, we’re ready to hit the accelerator!