• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Office of Information and Organizational Systems 2006 Grade 2 TerraNova Second Edition1August 2006 Department of Shared Accountability
Performance of the Montgomery County Public Schools Grade 2 Studentson the
TerraNova
CTBS Second Edition (TN/2)
Clare Von Secker, Ph.D. and Huafang Zhao, Ph.D.
Background
In 2006, the Montgomery County Public Schools(MCPS) administered the
TerraNova
ComprehensiveTests of Basic Skills Second Edition (TN/2) to Grade2 students. Like the first edition of the
TerraNova
Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS)administered in Grade 2 from 2000 to 2005, the TN/2assesses skills in reading, language, mathematics,language mechanics, and mathematics computation.Both the CTBS and TN/2 are nationally norm-referenced tests that compare performance of MCPSGrade 2 students with all Grade 2 students in thenation (the norm group). However, the TN/2 uses amore recent and inclusive student sample to establishnorm group performance (CTB/McGraw-Hill, 2002).The 2006 TN/2 scores will establish a new baselinelevel of MCPS Grade 2 performance and providemore opportunity to measure academic growth.Because of changes in the norm group and MCPSreporting methods, the 2006 TN/2 results cannot becompared with the CTBS results for 2000 to 2005.However, demographic differences in performanceon the TN/2 are expected to be similar to thoseobserved on the CTBS.
Methodology
This brief interprets TN/2 performance in terms of normal curve equivalent (NCE) scores. NCE scoresrange from 1 to 99 and coincide with national percentile (NP) ranks at 1, 50, and 99. The nationalnorm or average score for all TN/2 tests is the 50
th
  NCE.Unlike NPs, NCEs are based on equal-interval scales(e.g., the difference between NCEs of 30 and 40 isthe same as the difference between 50 and 60). Theequal interval property of NCEs allows them to beused to compare the performance of different groupsof students on the same or on different tests (CTB/McGraw-Hill, 2002). The TN/2 composite index isthe average NCE score for the reading, language, andmathematics tests. The composite index (averagescore) is the most sensitive indicator of changes inoverall test performance.The Grade 2 students included in this analysis wereenrolled in MCPS elementary schools in March 2006and took one or more TN/2 tests. District andelementary school TN/2 scores are reported for males, females, students of different races/ethnicities,and for students who receive Free and Reduced-priceMeals System (FARMS), special education, or English Language Learners (ELL) services.
Results
MCPS and the Nation
 The percentage of MCPS Grade 2 students at or above the 50
th
NCE on each test (Figure 1) exceededthe nation in reading (64%), language (64%),mathematics (67%), language mechanics (77%), andmathematics computation (72%). Sixty-nine percentof Grade 2 students had composite index scores at or above the 50
th
NCE. The composite index (average)is higher than the scores for the individual reading,language, or mathematics tests because scores at or above the 50
th
NCE on one test compensated for scores below the 50
th
NCE on another test.
646467777269
020406080100Reading Language Mathematics LanguageMechanicsMathematicsComputationCompositeIndex
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
Nation
2006 TN/2 Tests
 
Figure 1. Percentage of MCPS Grade 2 students with 2006TN/2 scores at or above the 50
th
NCE.
Testing Brie
 
 
Office of Information and Organizational Systems 2006 Grade 2 TerraNova Second Edition2
TN/2 Scores by Gender 
 More than 59% of MCPS males and females hadscores at or above the 50
th
NCE on all TN/2 tests andthe composite index (Figure 2). On average, MCPSGrade 2 females had higher scores than males.The percentage of females with scores at or above the50
th
NCE was higher than the percentage of males intests of reading (6 points), language (10 points),language mechanics (10 points), and the compositeindex (5 points). There were differences of two points or less in the percentages of males and femaleswith scores at or above the 50
th
NCE in mathematicsand mathematics computation.
615967676967
020406080100Reading Language Mathematics
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
Male Female
 
727367827172
020406080100Language Mechanics Mathematics Computation Composite Index
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
2006 TN/2 Tests
 
Figure 2. Percentage of MCPS students with 2006 TN/2 scoresat or above the 50
th
NCE by gender.
TN/2 Scores by Race/Ethnicity
 More than 80% of Asian American and Whitestudents had composite index scores at or above the50
th
NCE (Figure 3). More than three fourths of Asian American and White students scored at or above the 50
th
NCE on every TN/2 test and thecomposite index (Figure 3).The score ranges of African American and Hispanicstudents were close to the national averages (50
th
  NCE). About 50% of African American andHispanic students had composite index scores at or above the 50
th
NCE. About two thirds of AfricanAmerican and Hispanic students scored at or abovethe 50
th
NCE on the language mechanics test.
474948757979464448787782
020406080100Reading Language Mathematics
WhiteAfrican Am. Asian Am. Hispanic
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
 
645651918983655949868184
020406080100Language Mechanics Mathematics Computation Composite Index
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
2006 TN/2 Tests
 
Figure 3. Percentage of MCPS students with 2006 TN/2 scoresat or above the 50
th
NCE by race/ethnicity.
Among students of the same race/ethnicity, femaleswere more likely than males to have scores at or above the 50
th
NCE (Table A1). Gender differenceswere greatest among African American students,where the percentages of females with scores at or above the 50
th
NCE were as much as 16 points higher than the percentages of their male counterparts of thesame race/ethnicity.
TN/2 Scores by Service Group
 Less than one half of the students who receiveFARMS (43%), special education (36%), or ELL(32%) services had composite index scores at or above the 50
th
NCE (Figure 4). Less than one half of students who receive FARMS services and about onethird of students who receive special education or ELL services scored at or above the 50
th
NCE inreading, language, and mathematics.
 
 
Office of Information and Organizational Systems 2006 Grade 2 TerraNova Second Edition3About one half of students who receive FARMS,special education, or ELL services had scores at or above the 50
th
NCE in language mechanics andmathematics computation, rates similar to those of the nation as a whole (Figure 4).
646467404142383137363231
020406080100Reading Language Mathematics
ELLMCPS FARMS Special Ed.
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
777269605443475436585132
020406080100Language Mechanics Mathematics Computation Composite Index
   %    S   t  u   d  e  n   t  s   5   0
   t   h
   N   C   E  o  r   H   i  g   h  e  r
2006 TN/2 Tests
 
Figure 4. Percentage of MCPS students with 2006 TN/2 scoresat or above the 50
th
NCE by service group.
Discussion
In 2006, the TN/2 scores of MCPS Grade 2 studentson all tests were above the national averages. Twothirds to three quarters of MCPS Grade 2 studentsexceeded the 50
th
NCEs in reading, language,mathematics, language mechanics, and mathematicscomputation. MCPS Grade 2 students also exceededthe national average on the composite index, withmore than two thirds of students scoring at or abovethe 50
th
NCE.Differences in academic achievement associated withdemographic status were similar to those observed in prior years on the CTBS. On average, females scoredat or above the 50
th
NCEs at rates about 5 percentage points higher than males. Asian American and Whitestudents scored at or above the 50
th
NCEs at ratesabout 30 percentage points higher than the rates of African American and Hispanic students. Gender differences in performance among students of thesame race/ethnicity were greatest among AfricanAmerican students, where females scored at or abovethe 50
th
NCE at rates about 8 percentage pointshigher than males. Students who received FARMS,special education, or ELL services scored at or abovethe 50
th
NCE at rates about 20 percentage pointslower than the MCPS averages. Data provided in theAppendix provide more detailed descriptions of thesedifferences.The 2006 TN/2 NCE scores provide a baselineagainst which scores obtained in future years can becompared. Positive trends in Grade 2 performancerelative to the 50
th
NCEs will provide evidence of improvements in achievement of MCPS students.
References
CTB/McGraw-Hill. (2002). Classroom connectionsto
TerraNova
, the second edition. Monterey,CA: Author.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...