OXFORD — Major changes across the Oxford Hills School District in 2010-11 and 2011-12, including staff and budget cuts, continue to play a significant role in the district’s statewide tests results, school officials said.

The results of the New England Common Assessment Progress tests  released this week to the SAD 17 Board of Directors showed some great academic growth — but also some decline. The tests, administered in October, were based on what students learned during the 2011-2012 school year.

“Our NECAP scores represent significant areas of good growth and incredible efforts by our teachers and administrators in these tough economic times,” Curriculum Director Kathy Elkins said Wednesday.

Elkins said, in comparing district and statewide results over the last three years, it is important to note that there have been some changes. Class sizes have increased, there are 35.5 fewer full-time teacher positions than the previous year, and the elementary school cluster model has been initiated. At the same time, the district spent 12 percent below the state’s Essential Programs and Services mandate of what the state feels is an adequate budget for effective learning.

During the 2011-2012 school year, three positions were eliminated — two positions teaching students in kindergarten through sixth grade and one middle school position. The district spent 8 percent below the Essential Programs and Services that year, Elkins said.

According to information from Elkins, the average scaled scores from the recent NECAP tests showed that Oxford Hills School District students in grades 3 through 8 were “proficient” in reading and mathematics. This means that the majority of students met at least the minimum requirement or exceeded the standards.

Most district grade-level performances parallel the state, Elkins said.

When looking at roughly the same students from year to year, there were examples of great growth and losses,” she said. For example, she said, current sixth-grade students demonstrated 14 percent growth in reading proficiency and 6 percent growth in math proficiency, based on their previous year’s learning. A 4 percent growth for 200 students is considered significant, she said.

But the current seventh-grade NECAP results saw a drop of five points in math and seven points in reading, based on their sixth-grade learning. Elkins said this is not unusual as students enter middle school, and the problems usually resolve themselves when students enter the eighth grade.

Elkins said the district’s major goal for students is to show academic growth over time. She said students in the Waterford, Norway, Harrison, Paris and West Paris elementary schools have shown at least a 10 percent increase in the percentage of students who meet state standards in reading. Similarly, in math, Oxford, Waterford, Norway, Harrison and Paris students had grade levels that showed a 10 percent growth.

APR status unknown

It won’t be known until April whether the district scores meet Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. AYP is used in the federal No Child Left Behind Act to describe the amount of academic progress expected of each school each year.

It’s based on scores from grades three to eight and 11 SAT scores. Maine also includes average daily attendance for the elementary/middle grades and graduation rates for high schools.

Under AYP, 83 percent of students must meet the benchmark for reading and 80 percent for math. If neither are achieved, the results must show enough growth to gain “safe harbor.” Scoring allowances are made under safe harbor, based on the number of special education and/or economically disadvantaged students.

The NECAP is only one of the many ways to measure student progress, say educators.

New tests, relating to the state’s Common Core State Standards in reading, writing and math, will be put in place after the 2013-2014 school year. Elkins has said the test will be a truer indication of students’ knowledge and what they have learned in the classroom.

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