Biology EOC Results

Where's this stuff again?

Right before lunch on our first day of the spring semester, one of the guidance counselors knocked on my classroom door with my students' EOC quick scores from last semester.

Initially, I was elated.  At first glance, I noticed TONS of scores in the 90s!  Last year I could count the students who scored in the 90s on my fingers.  However, the elation faded when I noticed two failures, and very low failures at that.  It only got worse as I began to crunch the numbers.

2014 - Modeling Curriculum
58 total students (standard and honors combined)

Average Score:  88.8
Median Score:  91
Lowest Score:  63 (two failures)
Highest Score:  98


2013 - Traditional Instruction
37 total students (all standard)

Average Score:  81.6
Median Score:  82
Lowest Score:  68 (the only failure)
Highest Score:  92

Those numbers initially look MUCH improved, until you pull out the data from only my standard students this year:

2014 - Modeling Curriculum, Standard Biology Only
12 total students

Average Score:  82.2
Median Score:  85
Lowest Score:  63 (2 failures, both scoring 63)
Highest Score:  94

I'm not about to run a statistical analysis on the data.  While there was a slight improvement in average score and median score for standard biology students from 2013 to 2014, I expected to see more.  Plus, I had two extremely bad failures-- 63 is the lowest EOC score I have ever had a student earn on an EOC in any subject.  To add insult to injury, while one of the students who scored 63 is failing, the other is passing the class with a C.  That student had been on my "watch list" all year, but the student was very good about completing assignments, which offset her low quiz and test grades.

So why didn't I see more improvement?  Why was I unable to reach some of these students, especially the two failures?  Why was my failure rate so much higher than usual?  Why did my students think the exam was so hard this year, when I thought I was seeing strong mastery in the classroom?  And most importantly-- what do I need to do differently next time around?

The honors scores look okay on their own, I just hope they are "enough" so they won't negatively impact my evaluation at the end of the year.  We are evaluated on growth:  the state has some magic algorithm that determines what a student should score on their biology EOC based on prior state science exams.  If a student scores below that number, it impacts you extremely negatively.  If a student scores the expected number or only slightly above, you receive a mediocre evaluation.  The majority of your students need to score significantly better than their anticipated scores to receive a strong evaluation.  When you teach honors students, it's difficult to get the growth needed for a good evaluation.

On a side note, it's a sad state of education when I'm sitting here stressing about my students' growth scores instead of whether or not they learned enough biology to be successful in the future.  When did my job become more about numbers than education?

And where's that wine anyway?