ROCK SPRINGS – The Wyoming Department of Education released the results for the 2023-2024 Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress, commonly known as WY-TOPP, and the results aren’t good for Sweetwater County School District No. 1.
The district ranks last amongst the state’s 16 large districts in English language arts proficiency and math, and second to last in science proficiency, only beating Laramie County School District No. 1 by a tenth of a percentage point. The district is performing below state averages in all three areas.
Overall, SCSD No. 1 students scored 38.7% proficiency in math amongst students in grades three through 10, which represents a drop of 0.9% from 2022-2023. In English Language Arts, students scored proficiency of 43.6%, a drop of 1.9% from the prior year. For science, only fourth, eighth and 10th grades were tested, with SCSD No. 1 students scoring 37.4% proficiency. The science score was the largest drop from the prior year, being 3.2% lower.
Sweetwater County School District No. 2 fared much better in the results. Amongst large districts, SCSD No. 2 was seventh in English language arts with 56% proficiency, an increase of 0.9% from the previous year. The district was eighth in math, with 51.8% of students being proficient in the subject and representing a decline by 1.9% from 2022-2023. In science, the district ranked ninth with 51.6% of students being proficient in the subject. That figure represented a 0.7% increase from the prior year.
According to the Wyoming Department of Education, despite measures that resulted in Wyoming being the first state to return students to classrooms and be one of seven states with 95% assessment participation in 2021, the state hasn’t seen performance levels improve to pre-pandemic levels.
“While I’m disappointed that our assessment scores have not yet caught up to pre-pandemic levels, I am proud that we have not lowered the proficiency bar like other states. In Wyoming, we will unabashedly hold our standards high and push for excellence. These scores also demonstrate the need to innovate, to rethink our education system and how we instruct students. We must make change, and I am confident that our recently launched initiatives and pilot projects that so many districts have embraced, will absolutely do that,” Wyoming Superintendent of public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said.
Statewide, 99% of students in the testing grades participated in the WY-TOPP exams, with overall proficiency being stable compared to 2022-2023.The WDE reports English having a slight decrease statewide from the prior year, but the average proficiency percentage remains around 53%, while math proficiency has seen a steady increase since 2021. Science proficiency remains around 48%.
By grade, English proficiency increases were seen in the third, fourth and seventh grades across the state, while declines were seen in fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, and 10th grades. Grades three and four had the largest gains in proficiency in comparison to the spring 2023 semester.
For math, proficiency increases were seen in grades three, four, six, and nine, with the third, fourth and ninth grades seeing scores increase between 1.3% and 2.6% above pre-pandemic levels. Wyoming’s fourth grade classes saw the largest increase, with a 3.4% higher proficiency percentage over 2023.
In science, the fourth grade continues to make annual gains in proficiency and has reached its pre-pandemic high. Eighth grade science saw a 2.4% decrease in proficiency following a 2.2% increase in 2023, dropping the group to 1.8% below pre-pandemic levels. The WDE also notes he state had a new science test starting during the 2021-2022 school year based on 2016 science standards and 2018 extended science standards, with the most recent test representing the third year of new science expectations.
