Royal Oak Students Outperform County, State on 2011 Michigan Merit Exam Tests

Royal Oak students continue to improve their scores in nearly all subjects tested in the Michigan Merit Exam, scores released today by the Michigan Department of Education show.

The MME is a collection of tests given each spring to Michigan 11th grade students during a three-day period that includes state-developed tests in math, science and social studies, the ACT college entrance exam and ACT WorkKeys test.  

In Royal Oak, the largest increases from 2010 to 2011 came in writing, math and science while reading and social studies slipped slightly. The ACT averages held steady at a composite score of 20.1.

Royal Oak public high school students’ scores on the spring 2011 MME test are above Oakland County averages in reading and math.

% Proficient or Advanced 

Reading  2010

Reading 2011

Writing 2010

Writing 2011

Math 2010

Math 2011

Science 2010

Science 2011

Social Studies 2010

Social Studies 2011

ACT Average 2010

ACT Average 2011

Royal Oak

71

70

51

57

52

60

63

67

86

84

20

20.1

Michigan 

65

63

44

47

50

52

58

61

79

78

19.3

19.3

“Royal Oak’s 2011 results are the best they’ve ever been,” Superintendent Tom Moline said in a statement. This is especially true when compared to county averages, which he said are a good indicator of yearly fluctuations in test difficulty.

Royal Oak math scores shot up 8 percentage points from 2010, while countywide averages for math went up 3 percentage points. Average reading scores for the county dropped by 2 percentage points from last year, while Royal Oak scores fell by 1 percentage point for that time period.

The high school juniors who took the MME last spring are the second set of students required by law to complete the new high school requirements to graduate. The two-credit world language requirement first takes effect for the graduating class of 2016.

Sarah Olson, director of instruction for Royal Oak Schools, credited an ongoing commitment to rigorous classroom experiences for all students as a factor for the increases in math and the solid performance in reading on the MME. In addition, she said Royal Oak High School has added opportunities for flexibly paced classes that offer students the ability to master concepts necessary for the MME while addressing individual areas of need.

Statewide, the MME showed increases in students who scored proficient or advanced in four areas tested since 2007 – reading, writing, mathematics and science.

The largest increase was in writing, increasing from 40 percent to 47 percent between 2007 and 2011, followed by a math increase from 46 percent to 52 percent, science from 56 percent to 61 percent and reading from 60 percent to 63 percent.

ACT scores for the more than 109,000 students taking the MME this spring increased for a fourth consecutive year, scoring an average of 19.3 on the ACT Composite, which is up from 18.7 in 2008. The ACT Composite Score is the average of four ACT test scores (English, mathematics, reading and science).

From 2010 to 2011, students meeting all four ACT college-ready benchmarks improved from 16 percent to 17 percent, or 1,090 more students over the previous year.

In addition, in each subject area, the percent of students taking the MME who meet ACT college readiness benchmarks has steadily increased from 2008 to 2011.  In English, those meeting the ACT college readiness benchmark increased from 51 percent to 53 percent from 2008 to 2011.  In reading, the increase was from 37 percent to 40 percent.  In mathematics, the increase was from 28 percent to 32 percent.  In science, the increase was from 21 percent to 23 percent.

"Students are being challenged with greater rigor and are achieving at higher levels,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said in a statement. “Michigan educators are to be commended for the efforts they put in to help more students learn and succeed.”

The gap in achievement on the MME between many of the student population groups has narrowed when comparing results from 2007 to 2011, the state said. In four of the five subject areas, students with limited English proficiency have made appreciable gains compared to those students who are not limited English proficient. The most striking gains have been made by Hispanic students, who have increased proficiency levels by double digits in science and writing.