Two CMU charter schools rank in top five MEAP scores
Two schools chartered by Central Michigan University rank in the top five in Michigan Educational Assessment Program test scores for grades 3 through 8.
Canton Charter Academy finished first for the second year and South Arbor Charter Academy is Ypsilanti also finished in the top five.
"The credit really goes to the schools, instructional team and the students and the parents for what they have accomplished," said Jim Goenner, executive director of the Center for Charter Schools.
However, Goenner said the scores are not the most important part of the charter school mission.
"We only see that as part of the picture, our goal as authorizers is to make sure children are learning," said Billie Wimmer, executive director of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers.
Cathy Henkenberns, the principal of Canton Charter Academy, said it all starts with dedicated teachers.
"As a grade level team, the first grade are meeting throughout the week and they plan their lessons together," she said.
The teachers will look at the data from the Northwest Evaluation Association MEAP tests three times per year and what is going on in the classrooms to develop lesson plans that are tailored to the students' needs. This test rates where students are academically through a computer testing program.
In addition, the administration is in the classroom every day providing feedback.
State report
Last week, the Michigan Board of Education approved an annual report on state charter schools, but members plan to examine how to change the way they are compared to other schools in next year's data.
The Michigan Department of Education submits an annual report to the Michigan legislature on charter schools, Goenner said.
The report compared the state's more than 200 charter schools to 20 school districts that have about 75 percent of the state's chartered schools. Critics believe the report's conclusions do not reflect the data.
Goenner said they rejected the definition of host district, which was used to compare the performance of district and charter schools.
"We compare the charter school's performance to the performance of the schools where the kids come from," Goenner said.
For example, 90 percent of students at a charter school in Southfield are from Detroit. As a result, they are compared to students at district schools in Detroit.
Goenner said when CMU compares the performance of its charter schools to district schools, it constructs composite resident districts. These composite figures are weighted based on the percentage of students from each district.
For example, if a school has 100 students divided evenly among five districts, each district would account for 20 percent of the composite figure.
Goenner said CMU was invited by the Michigan Department of Education to participate in a working group on the latest report.
The Detroit News contributed to this report.
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