Schools

Lake Fenton's Michigan Merit Exam Results Fall Short of District's High Standards

School district had highest MEAP scores in Genesee County, while Merit Exam math and ACT results dip below state averages.

While Lake Fenton students , the district came back to earth a bit on the 2011 Michigan Merit Exam.

The test assesses juniors and eligible seniors based on Michigan high school standards.

scored better than state averages in most subjects on the Merit Exam, while ACT and math scores dipped below the Michigan average. Also, most numbers dropped from the school's 2010 marks.

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Julie Williams, executive director for the Lake Fenton Community Schools, said while high school scores have stayed consistent, officials were a little surprised at the drop off in some areas.

“We know we can do better,” Williams said. “But it has given us focus. We have a and goals for him to look at. We are looking to improve to the level of our other buildings."

Find out what's happening in Fentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The district's percentage of students proficient or advanced on ACT scores (19.2), dropped below the state average of 19.3. Last year the district had a 20.4 percentage of students proficient or advanced.

Lake Fenton’s math numbers in 2011 (49) dropped below the state average of 52 on the Michigan Merit Exam.

“Math has been a thorn in our side,” Williams said. “We are looking at the issue district wide.”

She added that the school has purchased and plans to implement a new program for third to fifth-graders to help raise math proficiency.

Overall numbers did drop quite a bit from 2010 to 2011 as reading went down from 79 to 68, writing went from 52 to 50, math went from 52 to 49, science went from 82 to 68 and social studies went from 91 to 82.

Lake Fenton’s .

“We have some high expectations in the district,” Williams said. “We want to get the high school achieving what our third through eighth grades are."

Here is a look at the numbers:

LAKE FENTON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS           

Reading  2010: 79

Michigan Avg: 65           

Reading 2011: 68

Michigan Avg: 63

Writing 2010: 52

Michigan Avg: 44

Writing 2011: 50

Michigan Avg: 47           

Mathematics 2010: 52

Michigan Avg: 50

Mathematics 2011: 49

Michigan Avg: 52

Science 2010: 82

Michigan Avg: 58

Science 2011: 68

Michigan Avg: 61

Social Studies 2010: 91

Michigan Avg: 79

Social Studies 2011: 82

Michigan Avg: 78

ACT Average 2010: 20.4

Michigan Avg: 19.3

ACT Average 2011: 19.2           

Michigan Avg: 19.3

* All numbers are percentage proficient or advanced.  


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