Modeling Biology Concept Inventory Post-Test Results

I could use any/all of the following things in excess to cope with my students' Modeling Biology Concept Inventory post-test results:

The results were that disappointing.  To recap, I have one section of standard biology and two sections of honors biology.  This is the first year I've ever had honors classes-- in prior years, I've only taught standard sections of biology.  I used the same modeling biology curriculum with both standard and honors.  My classes were surprisingly small this semester, with the exception of one honors section of 34 students.  I have not had a chance to break down the data by concept or standard yet; I've only entered the raw scores.

Here's the run down:

Section 1:  Standard Biology (12 students)

Pre-Test Class Average:  8/30 (27%)

Post-Test Class Average:  13/30 (43%)

Class Growth Average:  4 points

One student, who is currently failing, actually scored two points lower on the post-test as compared to the pre-test.  Two students showed no growth, scoring exactly the same (yet getting different questions correct).  The highest post-test score in this section was a 19/30, the lowest was a 7/30 from a student who showed no change. Two students showed double digit growth.  If you toss out the three students without growth, the class growth average becomes six points.  The median score pre-test score was 8/30, the median post-test score was 12/30. 

Section 2:  Honors Biology (34 students)

Pre-Test Class Average:  12/30 (40%)

Post-Test Class Average:  18/30 (60%)

Class Growth Average:  6 points

All students had a minimum of two points of growth, with six students showing double digit growth.  The low post-test score in this section was 11/30, three students scored 23/30, which was the highest score.  The median pre-test and post-test were 12/30 and 18/20, respectively.

Section 3:  Honors Biology (12 students)

Pre-Test Class Average:  10/30 (33%)

Post-Test Class Average:  17/30 (57%)

Class Growth Average:  7 points

All students in this section had a minimum of four points growth, but only one student had double digit growth.  The post-test low score was a 10/30, the high score was a 23/30.  The median pre- and post-test were 11.5/30 and 17.5/30, respectively.

I'm disappointed.  I think the MBCI is a difficult test, but these scores were still lower than I anticipated.  The fact that one of my students regressed and two of my students showed no growth is extraordinarily upsetting.  I'm also discouraged by just how low the growth and overall class averages are for each class.  A 13/30 class average is the equivalent of 43%-- that's not even passing.  I sure hope my students' EOC scores come back higher than this, or else I'm going to have some unhappy administrators.

I'm trying to think just what I could have done differently, especially to reach those three students who did not achieve in my class.  But I'm going to save my overall reflections on my first semester using the biology modeling curriculum for another post.