City schools lead in state test score declines

Four Baltimore schools on list of five that had double-digit drops around the state

Baltimore City schools lead in the number of sharp test score declines on the 2010 Maryland School Assessments, according to data analyzed by The Baltimore Sun, and the district ranks highest in the number of instances where schools recorded double-digit drops in performance.

Of five schools across Maryland that saw double-digit percentage-point decreases in both reading and math, four are in Baltimore. The district also led in the number of instances where scores dropped significantly in the grades tested. This year, there were 242 instances of double-digit drops in test scores in the city, compared with 156 last year.

Abbottston Elementary, which is being investigated by the state for testing improprieties, and William Pinderhughes, Furley and Sinclair Lane elementaries were the four city schools that had the top decreases, of between 14 and 36 percentage points. Fort Washington Forest Elementary in Prince George's County also had double-digit drops.

With the exception of Abbottston, city school officials would not comment about what specifically caused the drops, but pointed to variables in a school's climate that can contribute to declines in test scores. Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso said that everything from the size of the school to staff turnover in the tested grades to changes in student body can change a school's results from year to year.

"There are many reasons why scores in schools can go down," Alonso said. "Teaching is not an exact science. Schools experience variation. … What we hope is that they go up over time."

He also said the greater instances of drops "make sense in the context of flatter overall scores in reading, and more modest scores in math" this year.

After two years of test score leaps — which he said drew suspicion just as the drastic declines have done — the proportion of students reading at proficient levels remained flat this year at 72.4 percent and math proficiency saw a modest 3-percentage-point gain, to 66 percent.

"Last year, there were simply more schools improving, across the board, reflecting the huge jump in the district average," he said. "Same for the year before. There should have been more drops this year, given the overall scores for the district."

Alonso said last week that a handful of schools were "blanketed" this year with central office monitors during MSA testing. The city sent 120 monitors — the most ever — into schools that noted top gains and top losses in the past "to look for explanations," Alonso said.

Among them was Abbottston Elementary, where scores in some grades plummeted by as much as 50 percent. The school has the highest combined declines in the city. It was the change in scores that prompted Alonso to request a state investigation, he said last week.

Alonso declined Wednesday to say whether any of the other schools that noted large decreases were among those heavily monitored by the school system this year. He also declined to say whether any of the other schools that noted sharp declines were being investigated.

School administrators union President Jimmy Gittings said the principal at Abbottston, Angela Lewis Faltz, was removed from the school last week in connection with the investigation.

Gittings said Wednesday that he hoped that as more drastic test score declines came to light, the public and school officials wouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Scores can drop dramatically, not because of test irregularities, but because of other extenuating circumstances, and those circumstances need to be investigated before accusing the principal of any misdoings," he said.

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