This article was originally delivered to subscribers of our Education Watch newsletter. Sign up now to receive Education Watch directly in your inbox.

The Oklahoma Department of Education published spring test results for the 2023-24 school year. Oklahoma parents and schools received individual student test scores last month.

Each spring, schools administer exams in English language arts and math to third through eighth graders; fifth and and eighth graders are also tested in science.

Proficiency rates ranged from 39% to 51% in English language arts and 25% to 40% in math.

In science, 34% of 5th grade students and 35% of 8th graders tested proficient or better.

Those rates look like big increases over last year, but the state adjusted its grade level expectations this summer and applied them to the spring scores — causing proficiency rates to jump even though student learning has remained flat, Oklahoma Voice reported last month.

Oklahoma Watch analysis of 2023-24 state test score data from the Oklahoma Department of Education.

Oklahoma Watch plans to publish district-level test scores soon. Questions, comments, story ideas? As always, you can reach me via email.

— Jennifer Palmer

Recommended Reading

  • The state’s multicounty grand jury is investigating Superintendent Walters over misspent pandemic relief funds. Auditors found $1.7 million meant for student school supplies was spent on home appliances, TVs and other items. [The Oklahoman]
  • Catholic leaders asked for an extension to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in their quest to establish the nation’s first religious charter school. [Tulsa World]
  • Ohio is giving taxpayer money to fund construction of private, religious schools, a move some say is the next frontier in the push to expand school vouchers. [ProPublica]

Help Us Make a Difference

Oklahoma needs high-quality investigative journalism. That is our mission at Oklahoma Watch. We produce stories that hold government and public officials accountable and that make transparent what some prefer to keep secret. We depend on financial support from readers like you to sustain our coverage. Help us make a difference.

Support us

Support our publication

Every day we strive to produce journalism that matters — stories that strengthen accountability and transparency, provide value and resonate with readers like you.

This work is essential to a better-informed community and a healthy democracy. But it isn’t possible without your support.

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.