Math test gets low marks

Idaho students got a big collective F in math, according to results from a statewide test released this spring, but some local school officials are giving that test low marks.

Less than half – 46 percent – of Idaho sixth-graders scored proficient on the test and 51 percent of eighth-graders passed the Direct Math Assessment.

Fourth-graders fared slightly better, with 61 percent scoring proficient.

Idaho’s Department of Education said scores from the test – given to students in grades 4, 6 and 8 last fall – show students need help in math.

Those results were released as the state unveiled its plan to boost math scores for Idaho students.

The Idaho Math Initiative, funded with $3.9 million from the state school’s budget, calls for more training for teachers, development of new tests, intervention for struggling students and revised curriculum.

As part of the initiative, the Direct Math Assessment will be reassessed.

Students in the Post Falls School District have traditionally struggled on the Direct Math Assessment, according to Elementary Programs Director Barney Brewton.

“It’s not a test we put a lot of emphasis on,” Brewton said. He said the test – which is made up of word problems instead of multiple choice questions – is a good test.

“There are things that hinder us from using it for any good purpose,” he said.

It “doesn’t pinpoint strengths and weaknesses,” Brewton said, and it’s administered in the fall not long after the school year begins.

The state doesn’t release scores on the tests until months later, he added.

“The results of (the Direct Math Assessment) are not extremely useful other than to give you kind of a gauge as to how your students are doing as far as they’re at a 3.2 or a 2.8 and the state is at this and other schools are at that,” said Jim Facciano, curriculum director for the Coeur d’Alene School District.

The Department of Education acknowledges the districts’ concerns.

“We are looking into it,” said Melissa McGrath, the department’s spokeswoman.

McGrath said the state believes the test is useful. Teachers are encouraged to take copies of students’ tests in the fall and grade the tests themselves instead of waiting to see the state’s graded results, she said.

“They’re still able to look at students’ work and see where students are struggling,” she said.

Regardless of criticism about the test and the usefulness of the results, McGrath said the results show that there is some need for improvement.

“It’s always a concern,” she said, “when less than half of your students are proficient.”