Fewer than half of Calhoun County third-graders who took the state's academic assessment last year scored proficient in English language arts.

Scores on last year's M-STEP test ranged widely between districts and even among schools in the same district.

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In Marshall, 52.9% of Gordon Elementary School third-grade test-takers scored proficient on the English portion of the M-STEP, the highest of any school in the county.

About 14 miles east, the district's Harrington Elementary School in Albion had one of the lowest English scores in the county, with only 13.8% of third-graders proficient, according to data from the Michigan Department of Education.

"I'm glad to see that Gordon is doing well relatively to other buildings and other schools in the county, however, it's just a snapshot in time," Superintendent Randy Davis said Friday. "We're more interested in how students are growing throughout the year and from year to year."

Davis said he's optimistic about Harrington's future because the district assesses students in kindergarten through second-grade throughout the year and learned last year that 75% of its students had at least one year of growth for one year of instruction.

Marshall annexed Albion Public Schools, which includes Harrington, in 2016. Davis said it takes at least three years to stabilize and begin to see growth across the grade levels.

"I'm looking forward to the next two years on the state assessments," he said.

In Lakeview School District, 51.4 % of Riverside Elementary School third-graders scored proficient in English language arts, the highest of any school in Battle Creek.

In Battle Creek Public Schools, less than 25% of the third-graders and eighth-graders who took the assessment last year scored proficient in English language arts, while less than 20% hit the mark in math.

Among BCPS elementary schools, Valley View Elementary School had the biggest improvement, upping its scores in English for third-graders from 9.9% in 2017 to 31.2% in 2018, while math scores jumped from 19.7% to 24.7% during the same time period.

Verona Elementary School fared the worst. Its English scores continued to decline, dipping from 15.3% in 2016 and 13.8% in 2017 to 6.2% in 2018, the lowest of any school in the county. Verona's math scores dropped from 13.8% in 2017 to 7.4% in 2018.

Mitch Fowler, BCPS's director of school data systems and innovations, presented the results on Monday to Board of Education members.

"With this being a trend across the state, and regardless of the trend from the state, we know we've got work to do," Fowler said Thursday. "And, so, with that, increasing student achievement is always going to be our first priority at Battle Creek Public Schools, which is why we didn't wait for these results to come back to take action."

BCPS is adding more adults to elementary classrooms, more support staff in all buildings, increasing its emphasis on positive attendance and adding more books and other curriculum resources in classrooms, Fowler said.

The district is also investing in teacher professional development, specifically, he said, to build literacy skills in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms.

"We continue to be impressed with our Kindergarten Success Program and the impact that is having in attendance and student achievement," Fowler said.

In Harper Creek schools, Wattles Park Elementary School third-graders scored the highest in their district with 43.1% proficient in English, though that's down from 53.4% in 2017. Sonoma Elementary School also dropped in English from 55.6% in 2017 to a 42.3% proficiency in 2018.

Harper Creek is partnering with the Calhoun Intermediate School District to review its English language arts curriculum, identifying priority standards and aligning curriculum, instruction and assessment accordingly, said Laura Williams, assistant superintendent of instruction.

Teacher also are working collaboratively to identity what's working in each classroom, Williams said. Harper Creek is also in the second year of a standardized assessment that gives it feedback three times a year, she said.

The district is also looking at best practices, including deliberate and research-informed literacy practices, reading aloud from age-appropriate books and small group and individual instruction.

"We know we have some curriculum alignment to do, and so all of the teachers met in one location for professional development to look at our curriculum review process," she said. "We're feeling confident now that we're working to be on the same page."

Dunlap Elementary School third-graders in Pennfield Schools scored 40.9% proficient in English.

"We are excited to see areas of growth," Superintendent Tim Everett said in an email. "That data is supporting the work we are doing throughout the district as well as providing guidance for future school improvement endeavors.

"The areas of low performance are being monitored by using our local data that provides timely information for teachers to continue providing a quality education," he added. "District and building leaders will be digging deeper into the data. We will be able to unveil specific goals that we can use to provide for parents, students and staff."

Beginning next school year, third-graders across the state will be held back if they are a grade level or more behind in reading under a law passed in 2016. Parents can request an exemption if their student has an individualized education program or has received limited English language instruction, among other reasons.

The state Department of Education "is working on a strategy on how to best identify students at-risk of being held back and plans to come up with a process for doing so in the next several months," department spokesperson Bill DiSessa wrote in an email.

The Lansing State Journal and the Detroit Free Press contributed to this report. Contact Battle Creek Enquirer reporter Noe Hernandez at 269-966-0684 or nhernandez@battlecreekenquirer.com.