Paper

IMPROVING OEA SCIENCE SCORES 1

Recommendations for Improving Students’ Test Scores on the Ohio Educational

Assessment for Science at Hampton High School

Liberty Student

School of Education, Liberty University

In partial fulfillment of EDUC 816

IMPROVING OEA SCIENCE SCORES 2

Introduction to the Problem

The problem is that approximately half of the students at Hampton High School failed to

meet the state’s level of satisfactory performance on the Ohio Educational Assessment (OEA)

for Science (ODOE, 2020a). Over the last three academic years, approximately 50% of students

failed to meet the ODOE’s expectations on the test (ODOE, 2020b). Specifically, low

expectations are defined as students’ performance that “demonstrates an incomplete

understanding of essential concepts in science and inconsistent connections among central ideas”

(ODOE, 2018, p. 14). Students scoring below 50% on the test are considered to have failed the

science assessment (ODOE, 2018). Low scores on the assessment have had a detrimental effect

on Hampton High School and have reflected poorly on students, parents, teachers, staff, and

administrators, as well as the school board, town governments, and businesses and companies

within the region. In the past, the school has tried to solve this problem by requiring teachers to

spend more time teaching concepts covered on the test. Most recently, the school has offered free

after-school tutoring for students. Both historically and presently, these efforts have not proven

effective as approximately half of the students who took the assessment failed.

IMPROVING OEA SCIENCE SCORES 3

References

Ohio Department of Education. (2018). Achievement level descriptors and score ranges.

https://www.Ohio.gov/doe/sites/ohio.gov.doe/files/inline-

files/MEA_2018_ALDs%2BCut%20Scores_10-09-18.pdf

Ohio Department of Education. (2020a). Ohio assessment and accountability reporting system

(OAARS). https://lms.backpack.education/public/Ohio

Ohio Department of Education. (2020b). The Ohio educational assessments: Why participation

matters. Ohio Department of Education.

https://www.ohio.gov/doe/sites/.gov.doe/files/inline-

files/Why%20Participation%20Matters-1.pdf