On Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, Michigan state education officials raised the bar for student proficiency on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and the Michigan Merit Exam (MME).

The new “cut scores” method results in a staggering decline of the number of students considered “proficient” in a number of subjects. When officials recalculated the results of last year’s MEAP and MME using the new scoring method, they found that the highest-scoring district — that earned a 99.5 percent proficiency rate in math — would drop to 73.4 percent.

Robert Floden, co-chairman of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University, said that improvements to proficiency take time — perhaps even five to 10 years. He also added that students’ test scores are likely to increase if schools can help teachers get training in subjects such as science and math.

“Kids have to learn more. That takes longer. It requires the teachers to learn the content and that takes time. … To get there, it will take a while to get better,” he said.

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Robert Floden, interim dean of the College of Education and co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University, said that meeting these requirements will require substantial work to improve instruction.

“The change in cut scores for MME are an important shift, which will give students a more accurate picture of their readiness to succeed in college,” he said.

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Floden also commented on the controversy surrounding school start dates in Michigan. School leaders say they would like schools to open before Labor Day to better prepare students for the Michigan Education Assessment Program — the test that determines if schools are considered passing or failing under federal and state laws.

Floden, however, looked at the situation from a different approach.

“The number of days of instruction makes a difference for performance. The number of days isn’t determined by the start date. Starting later means finishing later,” he said.

What’s important, he added, is how the time is used.

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