HS Assessment Results Finally Arrive

Dec. 20, 2002

Data from the High School Assessment testing last May is good news for the students at Damascus High School. Ninth and tenth-graders at DHS outperformed the state averages on each test, and outperformed the Montgomery County average on several of the tests.

The High School Assessments are end-of-course tests currently being administered in five courses: 9th grade English, 10th grade National/State/Local Government, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Biology. More end-of-course exams may be required in future years.

Percentile scores will be recorded on student's transcripts. The percentile score compares how well a student did compared to other county students; a score in the 70th percentile means that the student scored higher than 70% of test-takers. Damascus students, on average, scored in the 71st percentile for English; 74th for Biology; 68th for Geometry; 73rd for Government; and 56th for Algebra. (The Algebra score is lower because many students take it in 8th grade; Baker Middle School, for example, scored in the 96th percentile.)

Passing scores for the tests have not yet been established; they will be determined in the summer of 2003. Next year's 9th grade students will have to pass the High School Assessments for graduation; next year's 10th and 11th grade students will not have to pass the exams. However, their scores will be reported on their transcripts.

The achievement gap is evident in the HSA data. For example, white students at DHS on average scored in the 76th percentile on the Biology exam, while African Americans scored in the 58th percentile and Hispanics scored on average in the 46th percentile.

"Kids may have just blown it off as a pain, signed their names and simply randomly put down multiple guess letters," one outspoken county teacher stated. "Many I am sure didn't even bother with the BCRs." The real test (pardon the pun) may come when the tests become a graduation requirement.