July 14, 2009                            

LANSING – High school writing and math scores have shown an increase, according to results for the Michigan Merit Exam (MME) released today by the Michigan Department of Education. High school juniors were tested this past spring on the MME, which includes the college entrance exam, the ACT Plus Writing®.

Over the past three years, the percentage of Michigan public school 11th graders who scored at the proficient or advanced levels in writing improved from 40 percent in 2007, to 41 percent in 2008, to 44 percent in 2009.

Math scores increased from 46 percent last year to 49 percent this year. Scores for other subjects over the past three years were virtually unchanged.

“This is good news for writing and math scores,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, “but we still are not where we need to be overall, in getting all students to be college-ready.”

In the other subject areas, 11th grade students achieving proficient or advanced performance levels compared to 11th graders from the previous year were as follows: Reading 60 percent, down from 62 percent; English language arts 52 percent in both years; science 56 percent, down from 57 percent; and social studies 81 percent, up from 80 percent.

Included in the MME is the ACT college entrance exam. Michigan students who earned college reportable ACT scores as part of the state test had an average composite score of 19.0, which was up slightly from the 18.8 composite score for students taking the test in the previous two years.

The Michigan Merit Exam is given each spring to Michigan 11th grade students. Completing the MME makes the student eligible for the $4,000 Michigan Promise scholarship, administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury.

To become eligible for the scholarship, students must take the complete MME and receive scores in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. To qualify for up-front installment payments from the Michigan Department of Treasury, students must achieve the Proficient or Advanced level in those subjects. They are eligible for $1,000 during each of their freshman and sophomore years of college, and then the remaining $2,000 after successfully completing two years of college. Those students who achieve less than a Proficient score must wait until they finish two years of college to earn their entire $4,000 scholarship.

In addition to enabling students to earn these scholarship funds, taking the MME provides students with a free college-reportable ACT score, accepted by a vast majority of colleges in the United States.

Schools receive a variety of printed and electronic reports for the MME, including Parent Reports that show their student’s performance on this statewide assessment. Schools are to make available to parents the printed Parent Reports when students return to class this fall, or mail the Parent Reports home upon receipt. Parents are encouraged to contact their school's Guidance Office if they do not receive their student's printed Parent Report by mid-September.

The MME also includes portions of the ACT WorkKeys® employability skills assessment: Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and a new test added this year, Locating Information. The addition of Locating Information allows students to qualify for the WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). Student scores for the WorkKeys® are reported directly to high schools for distribution to students and parents.  

The MME scores are divided into four performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, and Not Proficient. Students who place in either the Advanced or Proficient levels are considered to be “proficient” in that subject. Those who place in the Partially Proficient or Not Proficient levels are deemed to be “not proficient.”

While individual student scores are protected by a federal right to privacy law, summary data about an entire school or district is available to the public at www.michigan.gov/mme. From there, click on "MME Test Results" on the left side of the screen. Documents available online for the Spring 2009 MME are Demographic Reports, Frequently Asked Questions, a School and District Data File, School and District Summary Reports, and Statewide Results.