Education

Oklahoma testing results remain well below pre-pandemic norm

September 23, 2022

Ray Carter

The results of the 2022 round of state tests show Oklahoma students have begun to regain some academic ground lost during COVID disruptions but results on nearly all tests remain well below the pre-pandemic norm. And even prior to COVID, the majority of Oklahoma students failed to achieve proficiency in all grades and subjects tested.

Each year, the state administers tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in the third through eighth grades as well as grade 11, and administers tests in science in grades five, eight, and 11. In 2022, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) reported that 98 percent of Oklahoma’s public-school students took state tests.

Few Bright Spots in Results

The share of students testing proficient or better exceeded the pre-pandemic level in only two areas: 11th grade English Language Arts and 11th grade science.

In the 2018-2019 school year, the last in which state tests were administered prior to the pandemic, 33 percent of 11th-grade students tested proficient or better on the ELA test compared to 38 percent in 2022. On the 2019 science test, 24 percent of 11th-grade students tested proficient or better, but 25 percent did so in 2022.

On a third test, students have almost recovered all ground lost since COVID. On the fifth-grade science test, 38 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019 compared to 37 percent in 2022.

Results on Most Tests Well Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

However, on the remaining 14 state tests, student results remain well below the pre-pandemic level.

On the ELA tests, 38 percent of third-grade students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 29 percent in 2022.

On fourth-grade ELA tests, 30 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 23.5 percent in 2022.

On the fifth-grade ELA test, 35 percent of students were proficient in 2019, but just 28 percent were proficient in 2022.

On the sixth-grade ELA test, 36 percent of students were proficient in 2019, but just 26 percent were proficient in 2022.

On the seventh-grade ELA test, 29 percent of students were proficient in 2019, but just 22 percent were proficient in 2022.

On the eighth-grade ELA test, 31 percent of students were proficient in 2019, but just 25 percent were proficient in 2022.

On third-grade math tests, 43 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 33 percent in 2022.

On fourth-grade math tests, 38 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 33 percent in 2022.

On fifth-grade math tests, 31 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 26 percent in 2022.

On sixth-grade math tests, 30 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 22 percent in 2022.

On seventh-grade math tests, 33 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 24 percent in 2022.

On eighth-grade math tests, 23 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 16 percent in 2022.

On 11th-grade math tests, 23 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 19.48 percent in 2022. The 2022 results in 11th-grade math were not only lower than the 2019 results, but also lower than the 2021 results, marking two consecutive years of decline. (No tests were administered in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID.)

On eighth-grade science tests, 40 percent of students were proficient or better in 2019, compared to 30 percent in 2022.

Overall, a large majority of students in all grades and subjects tested scored below the proficiency level. Between 62 percent and 84 percent of students on all tests scored at the “basic” or “below basic” levels, which the OSDE reported means those students “may not be” or are definitely not “on track for college or career success.”

Learning Loss Persists Despite Record Funding

The continuance of significant learning loss in Oklahoma schools has occurred despite record levels of funding, including a massive infusion of federal cash to address COVID-related problems.

During the 2022 legislative session, House Speaker Pro Tempore Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, noted that education funding had increased by 33 percent in the prior six years, and said Oklahoma public schools “have more money than they’ve ever had in the history of the state, and it’s not even close.”

The budget deal subsequently approved at the end of the 2022 legislative session augmented that spending further and set a new record for K-12 funding.

Oklahoma schools have also received an enormous infusion of one-time federal funding to deal with COVID issues, including payment for efforts to address learning loss.

Three rounds of federal COVID-bailout funding have been provided to states since spring 2020. Oklahoma school districts received $144.8 million from the first round, $598.5 million from the second round, and $1.34 billion from the third round. Those three rounds of COVID-bailout funds generated a combined total of more than $2 billion in extra funding for Oklahoma school districts.

At the start of 2022, Oklahoma schools still had $1.4 billion of that total available to address COVID challenges including learning loss.

Despite results being far below pre-pandemic norms across all grades in most subjects, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister proclaimed the 2022 testing results a significant achievement.

“The spring 2022 scores show that our students are turning a corner in academic achievement,'' Hofmeister said. “In light of more than two school years of COVID-related instructional challenges and interruptions, these results show that local and statewide recovery and academic acceleration investments are clearly having a positive impact.”