LAS CRUCES—Based on the Public Education Department (PED)’s newly released data from the 2017 PARCC assessment scores, Las Cruces Public Schools’ math proficiency levels remained nearly the same and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency levels saw a slight improvement when compared to last year’s scores. Overall, districtwide proficiency levels in both categories have improved by roughly 3 percent since the assessment was first administered three years ago.
“These assessments give us a snapshot of how our students are doing at one point in time,” said LCPS Superintendent Dr. Greg Ewing. “Classroom instruction is ultimately the key driver of student success, so it’s important for our teachers to use their knowledge, training and experience to guide their day-to-day instruction.”
PARCC—Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers— is a state-mandated, computerized exam which measures proficiency in math and ELA among 3rd through 11th grade students.
Based on the data, 28.8 percent of the 15,213 students who took the 2017 ELA assessment met or exceeded proficiency standards, compared to the 27.4 percent of students who met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2016 exam. The data also showed that 19.3 percent of the 14,839 students who took the math assessment met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2017 exam, compared to the 19.6 percent of students who met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2016 exam.
Across the state, 28.6 percent of the 214,870 students who took the 2017 ELA assessment met or exceeded proficiency standards, compared to the 27.6 percent of students who met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2016 exam. The data also showed that 19.7 percent of the 213,692 students who took the math assessment met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2017 exam, compared to the 19.9 percent of students who met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2016 exam.
Proficiency levels for the assessment are determined by how many of the students’ scores fell into the top two categories—met expectations and exceeded expectations— of a five-category scale. Student scores that fall into the bottom three categories—did not meet expectations, partially met expectations and approached expectations—indicate only partial proficiency in math or ELA.
The PARCC assessment was developed by Pearson, a British multinational publishing and education company, and is currently used in seven states.