Eleventh grade test scores continue to rise

For the third year in a row, Lake Orion 11th-graders have out-done county- and statewide Michigan Merit Examination (MME) proficiency levels.
In March 2007, MME replaced the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) for high school juniors. The test was formed to measure student performance across the state and to determine a school’s yearly adequate progress and accreditation.
Since 2007, Lake Orion students have achieved between nine and 24 percent higher proficiency levels over state and county averages in each category: math, science, social studies, reading, writing and English language arts.
‘This is the first time in every core area we’ve made significant increase,? said Lake Orion High School Association Principal Darin Abbasse. ‘We’re close to the top five or six [in Oakland County] in everything and that’s a first in the past three years.?
One of this year’s biggest achievements was trying for highest social studies scores in the county at 94 percent proficiency.
Lake Orion student scores have increased overall in the three since the MME’s introduction.
‘Reading has definitely improved. We’ve been able to maintain our above average of the state and the county scores. Writing is still a concern but it is state wide, so we’re kind of consistent with that,? said Director of Instructional Technology Linda Glowaz.
Administrators attribute student success to teaching strategies and interventions utilized by the district.
KeyTrain, for example, is a new feature in the MME that assesses applied mathematics, locating information and reading information skills. To gear up for it, Lake Orion High School makes use of practice and sample KeyTrain tests.
‘Out of the ten states that have taken this KeyTrain test, we rank third,? said Abbasse. ‘And it’s our first year, so we’re doing something right.?
Depending on test scores, students will be able to take KeyTrain gold, silver or bronze certificates to potential employers along with resumes, according to the associate principal.
‘KeyTrain is employability skills,? Abbasse said. ‘The kids will be able to get a certificate that they can show an employer that they have the skills to do their job.?
Abbasse also said increased participation in ACT preparatory classes could have helped boost scores. Class involvement jumped from 96 to 380 students.
‘It’s practicing strategies, not teaching them how to take the test,? Abbasse said.