In Concord, elementary school students scored higher on state reading and math assessments than they did last year, but proficiency levels at Concord High School continue to decline, according to state data.

Districtwide, math scores have risen slightly from 27% proficiency last year to 30% proficiency this year, according to results from tests taken in the spring. But reading scores have generally declined from 47% proficiency last year to 43% proficiency this year.

Concord’s scores are well below this year’s statewide average of 51% reading proficiency and 40% math proficiency.

The most progress was made among Concord’s third and fourth graders, with third graders jumping eight percentage points in reading proficiency and nine percentage points in math proficiency compared to last year. Concord High School 11th graders didn’t score so well, dropping 13 percentage points in reading proficiency and nine percentage points in math proficiency compared to last year.

“The district has been doing a lot of focus on interventions in reading and in math,” Concord assistant superintendent Kimberly Yarlott said Wednesday. “We’re going to continue to monitor and we are going to disaggregate the data to see different populations of students who did well or didn’t do well. We definitely have work to do.”

New Hampshire statewide assessment data, from testing that occurred in the spring of 2022, was released by the New Hampshire Department of Education last week and shows a divide in success rates among older and younger students one year after scores dropped dramatically during the pandemic. While early data showing state-level results was previously published in July, the data set published this week shows student success rates at the district and school levels as well.

The data shows that, statewide, New Hampshire students’ proficiency levels in math, reading and science have either increased slightly or remained the same since 2021, but that performance still remains lower than 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

“Although New Hampshire assessment results are recovering some lost ground, we know that there is more work that needs to be done,” said education commissioner Frank Edelblut.

“We will continue to focus our efforts on recovery, and we are hopeful that schools will use this data to inform and improve teaching and learning and that collaborative efforts will help our students aim higher.”

Yarlott added that participation rates of Concord students were much higher this year – 96% of students took the tests in 2022 compared to about 82% at the end of the 2021 COVID school year.

The Concord School District does many of its own assessments of student progress. This year, according to Yarlott, the district purchased iReady for fifth grade, to expand their ability to track proficiency levels. District teams go to each school every year to look at testing data with the principals to see how students are doing at each grade level.

Yarlott said the state’s assessments scores are “not necessarily aligned” with Concord’s own assessments and its competency-based grading system.

“There is a certain validity to the trendline, but it is not going to be the only piece of assessment we rely on for student performance,” Yarlott said. “There are a lot of contributing factors that would result in a student not doing well on the state assessment.”

Six miles up the road, the Merrimack Valley School District has seen improvement on its state assessment scores since last year. District-wide, 47% of students scored proficient in reading compared to just 39% last year. Middle and high schoolers scored the best in reading, with grades 8 and 11 both scoring over 50% proficient, while fourth graders displayed the least proficiency at 42%.

In math, 40% of Merrimack Valley students scored proficient this year, compared to just 28% last year. High schoolers had the lowest math scores in the district at 23% proficient, while third and fourth graders both scored above 50% proficient.

Superintendent Mark MacLean said the district has recently implemented a new math program, created a K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) specialist position and increased its focus on positive supports for behavior, health and wellness.

“Recognizing there is still work to do, we’re excited to see these results trending in a positive direction,” Superintendent Mark MacLean said Thursday.

“This is gratifying as we have been working hard to analyze the data and strategize on how to make improvements. While standardized test scores are only one data point, in conjunction with other metrics we can use this information to make informed decisions about programs, interventions, instructional techniques and assessment strategies.

“We’re fortunate to have engaged students, supportive parents, skilled teachers / staff, highly trained specialists collaborating in all curricular areas, and outstanding administrators bringing this all together. As I mentioned in my previous email, we’re now digging deeper into the results to learn more from these standardized assessments.”

Hopkinton School District has also seen improvements, with 68% of students scoring proficient in reading this year compared to 39% last year. In math, 53% of students scored proficient compared to 28% last year.

In Bow, 62% of students scored proficient in reading compared to 65% last year, while 50% of students district-wide scored proficient in math compared to 44% last year.

The state’s largest city school districts remain well below the statewide average, not increasing much in proficiency since last year. In Manchester, 28% of students scored proficient in reading while 16% of students scored proficient in math, both up one percentage point since last year.

In Nashua, the reading proficiency remains steady at 41%, while the math proficiency has increased two percentage points to 32%.

Disparities still persist

While not a new trend, racial disparities persist among test scores in Concord and elsewhere. According to the spring 2022 data, just 15% of Black Concord students district-wide are proficient in math compared to 32% of white students. In reading tests, only 21% of Black students scored proficient compared to 45% of white students.

In Manchester, less than 10% of Black students district-wide are proficient in math compared to 21% of white students, and only 15% of Black students are proficient in reading compared to 35% of white students.

In Nashua, 22% of Black students are proficient in math compared to 36% of white students, and 36% of Black students are proficient in reading compared to 46% of white students.

Additionally, students experiencing homelessness scored far worse than housed students across the board. Only 13% of homeless students in Concord, 16% in Nashua and less than 10% in Manchester scored proficient in math this year.

The 2022 comprehensive statewide assessment data is available on the New Hampshire Dept. of Education website. Users can sort results by content area, grade level and student sub-group.

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