MEAP scores drop in math, science, social studies, writing

The Detroit News:

"Michigan high school students' scores dipped in math, science, social studies and writing, according to state tests of the Class of 2005 released today.

The only subject in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP, tests that saw an improvement was reading, which increased by 2 percentage points. Nearly 78 percent of the Class of 2005 could read at grade level compared with almost 76 percent in the Class of 2004.

The biggest drop was in science: about a 5 percentage point decrease. Fifty-eight percent of this year's graduating seniors passed the test compared to 63 percent of the Class of 2004.

Math scores dipped by almost 2 percentage points, going from a 57 percent passing rate to 59 percent. In social studies, only 34 percent of students passed, down from 35 percent last year.

More than 109,000 student took the assessment from the Class of 2005. "