Elgin Math and Science Academy third-graders posted scores above the state average in math but below the state average in English language arts, according to data compiled in the charter school’s first state report card.
EMSA, which opened in August 2018 with a class of about 200 kindergarten through third-grade students, completed its first full school year this past spring. Its first Illinois Report Card, a “snapshot” reflecting a wide range of information on everything from class sizes to demographic numbers to absenteeism rates, was released this past week.
While not enough data is available for the state to designate the school as exemplary, commendable, under-performing or lowest performing, the report card did provide a view of how third-grade students fared compared to other schools in the area and the state in regards to test scores.
In the math component of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, 47% of EMSA students were ranked as “proficient” — defined as meeting or exceeding state standards — compared to 32% statewide average. Students did not do as well in English language arts, producing scores that showed a 35% proficiency compared to the state average of 38%, data showed.
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However, EMSA students scored higher than students in two neighboring school districts in both categories. School District U46 third-graders had a 33% math proficiency and 18% English proficiency and those in Community School District 300 had a 42% proficiency in math and 32% in English, card data said.
“We’re pretty pleased with our first-year scores,” Principal Lezlie Fuhr said. “To have our math scores 15 points about the average is encouraging.”
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness was administered to students in third through fifth grades statewide for the first time last year, replacing the PARCC exams students previously took.
EMSA students who were in third grade last year will be tested as fourth-graders this year, giving the school more data to analyze how students are faring in general and year-to-year performance data for the current fourth-graders, Fuhr said.
EMSA third-graders spend about 105 minutes on math every day and another two hours on English, she said. The test scores suggest the curriculum the school employed is on the right track, she said.
“Typically when a school is incorporating curriculum, it’s for one subject. But since we opened a new school, we had to learn all the curriculum areas at once and build from there,” Fuhr said.
Most of the students last year came from public and private schools or were home schooled, meaning there was a learning curve involved in adjusting to the new setting, Fuhr said. About 20% were English language learners and more than 40% came from low-income families, she said. (A typographical mistake in the report card under-reported the number of low-income students, she said.)