Declining Test Scores

Orem schools have experienced significant declines in student achievement since 2017. The decline began before COVID-19. A concerted emphasis must be placed on helping our students to recover from the delayed learning during COVID, and to reach greater academic achievement.

Student test scores are important because they measure whether or not a school district is giving its students a rigorous education with high expectations. A school district should do all it can to give each student the best learning and instruction environments possible. Student test scores can be a measurement of the success of a school district’s commitment to its students and teachers. For the students, this commitment allows students to aim high without settling for less than they are capable of achieving. Test scores provide a means for comparison and an opportunity to show growth, as well as indications of where more attention should be placed by educators. (*2022 Feasibility Study)

For many years Alpine School District has experienced growth in academic achievement as measured by state test scores. But in the last few years, district and state testing data has revealed slower growth, and in some cases negative student academic growth, particularly in Alpine School District schools in the City of Orem. In a presentation to the Orem City Council in 2021, Alpine School District’s Business Manager, Mr. Rob Smith, stated the number one condition that would justify a split of Alpine School District and the consequent formation of the New District was declining test scores and “student performance at lower levels due to the district’s size.”

As scores and data were gathered from USBE it is frightening to see Orem Students proficiency rates have significantly dropped in 2021!

It is important to note there appears to be an alteration and distortion of school testing and reporting provided by the Alpine School District for the Comprehensive Study compared with the same student test scores reported by Alpine School District to the Utah State Board of Education. You can find the original Word documents provided by Alpine School District in the Orem Portal, and can compare with the Utah State Board of Education test scores on the “Reports (Data Statistics)” tab (see Proficiency Rates by year). It is clear that Alpine School District has errors, as the Proficiency Rates for science at Northridge and Orchard Elementary Schools show as 476.6% and 676.3% respectively – scores that are impossible to achieve.

In the graphs above we have two proficiency rates - One for all students and one for low income students. How can we be proud of these proficiency rates? Is a 36%, 40%, 39% or 56% in English now considered adequate? How about Math? Or Science? And clearly our Title 1 students are struggling, so the methods that ASD is trying to do are certainly not working. Is this what all of that supposed extra funding from Alpine School District is getting for our Orem students?

From 2014-2018 the State of Utah utilized the SAGE testing method, and from 2019-current have utilized the RISE/ASPIRE method. It is important to note that the RISE/ASPIRE testing method does not test for grades 11 or 12 in high school. SAGE split sciences into 4 categories: Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, while RISE/ASPIRE splits it only into 9th and 10th Grade Science. Math under SAGE was split into Secondary Math I, II, and III, and RISE/ASPIRE splits it into just 9th and 10th Grade Math and Secondary Math I.

Another website that parents may find helpful and easy to navigate is www.schooldigger.com, which shows test scores and school rankings district-wide, as well as state and nationwide.

Orem students and teachers need to be able to have better learning and instructional environments that can be monitored on a local level and not get lost in the shuffle of 13 other cities, countless administrators and a Superintendent who has to divide his attention between so much.

Vote YES on Prop 2!

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