State Report Card

Proficiency by Student Characteristics

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT

These bar graphs show how various groups of students with similar characteristics performed on the 2003 state assessments. The state is required by federal law (the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) to report the test results of each of these groups of students: African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, White; Male, Female; Students living in Poverty, English-language Learners, Students with Disabilities, and Migrant Students.

(There are fewer than 10 migrant students in the tested grade at the elementary and high-school levels, and therefore we do not report their test results so as not to identify individual students or to invite guessing as to the achievement results of individual students.)

Note that these bar graphs represent results only from the New Standards Reference Exams, administered in grades 4, 8, and 10. Results are not reported here by subtest; rather, they are aggregated into the two core subject areas: English language arts and mathematics.

Each bar represents all students in each group; the bars are placed along a horizontal line so that the percent that achieved the standard or achieved it with honors (i.e., achieved proficiency) lies above the line and the percent that did not achieve proficiency lies below the line. This way, you can visually compare the achievements of the varying groups of students.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

Once again, the state’s goal is for all students (100%) to achieve proficiency in all core academic subjects. We are years away from achieving this goal.

To meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, not only must each school as a whole achieve proficiency but various groups of students within each school (and district) must do so. These bar graphs show you, on a statewide level, what percentage of students from each group of students achieved proficiency in the most recent round of state assessments.

In addition, these bar graphs allow you to compare the achievements of varying groups of students. When some groups of students lag behind others, this is known as an “equity gap.” So if some of the bars fall significantly below others on the graphs, groups of students are making unequal progress. These equity gaps must be closed.