News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alpena Public Schools Superintendent Dave Rabbideau looks at student achievement data in his office on Thursday.

ALPENA — The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) scores have been released for the 2024-2025 school year, showing that Alpena Public Schools students scored lower than the statewide proficiency rate in English language arts (ELA) and math. The M-STEP is a state assessment taken by students in grades three through seven that gives a picture of student proficiency in ELA, math, social studies, and science.

APS Superintendent Dave Rabbideau addressed the scores in an email to students, parents, and staff.

“News headlines will highlight the percentage of students who are ‘proficient’ in each grade and subject,” he stated. “While these numbers often draw quick judgments about schools and districts, it is important to remember that they reflect only a fraction of a much bigger story.”

At APS, 40% of third graders, 35.9% of fourth graders, 28% of fifth graders, 20.8% of sixth graders, and 25.9% of seventh graders were proficient or above on the math assessment.

In ELA, 31.9% of third graders, 40.9% of fourth graders, 42.7% of fifth graders, 31.2% of sixth graders, and 28.9% of seventh graders were proficient.

“State assessments are valuable tools that show how well students have mastered specific content at a point in time,” Rabbideau said in an email. “But a single test score does not capture everything we know about student learning or school quality. Many factors play a role, some outside the district’s control, like whether a student was rested or engaged on test day, and others within our control, like the quality of daily instruction and how we respond to ongoing classroom assessments. True student growth and achievement are best measured through a combination of evidence over time, not just one test session.”

A bright spot in APS ELA data comes from eighth grade PSAT scores, where 70.7% of students were proficient.

Statewide, 42.7% of third graders, 39.4% of fourth graders, 32.9% of fifth graders, 31.5% of sixth graders, and 33.3% of seventh graders were proficient in math.

In ELA, 38.9% of third graders, 42.2% of fourth graders, 44.4% of fifth graders, 38.6% of sixth graders, and 39.2% of seventh graders were proficient across the state.

APS students tested below statewide proficiency at all grade levels.

ELA numbers for third grade APS students are down from 2023-2024’s 34.9%, fourth grade is down from 43.1%, fifth grade is down from 43.8%, sixth grade is up from 27.9%, and seventh grade up from 27%.

Math numbers for third grade APS students from the previous school year are down from 43.9%, fourth grade is down from 38.2%, fifth grade is up from 27.9%, sixth grade is down from 24%, and seventh grade is up from 23.5%.

Most grade levels at APS had a lower proficiency than last year in ELA and math.

Statewide, elementary ELA scores (grades three through five) went down, while sixth and seventh grade scores increased. All grade levels in mathematics saw an increase in scores except for third grade.

“Ultimately, the purpose of K-12 education is to prepare students for success after graduation, whether in college, career, military, or the trades,” Rabbideau said. “One test score does not define a student’s potential, nor does it fully reflect the strength of our schools.”

He said analyzing the data will help the district better understand where improvements may be needed.

“There is much work to be done analyzing the data from these assessment results,” Rabbideau said in an email. “Our proficiency levels are not where we want them to be, but the data shows that we are making progress.”

Other data that will be made public soon from MI School Data will give the district a fuller picture of how well students are doing. That data includes student growth statistics and the school index report.

The student growth percentile measures the number of students that are showing improved test scores from year to year, ranking student achievement in categories of average, above average, and below average growth. The school index report looks at the achievements of individual schools in a district, highlighting proficiency, student growth, and other factors.

APS also assesses students through the Northwest Evaluation Association Assessment (NWEA), which students take three times a year.

Rabbideau said assessments like those, “we take action on right away, and they’re much closer to the student and the actual learning that’s going on.”

He said the results will be further addressed at an upcoming workshop.

“APS will be sharing a more in-depth look at student achievement data at our September Board of Education workshop,” Rabbideau said in an email. “We invite all who want a deeper understanding of what these results mean to join us.”

The September workshop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15 in the Gerry Ludwig Board Room, 2373 Gordon Road, Alpena.

To find M-STEP data from APS and other Michigan schools, visit mischooldata.org.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.