PARIS — State assessment test results for the 2015-16 school year have been released by the Department of Education, but local educators say more time is needed to study them before they can comment.

“We have taken a preliminary look at the results and we are still digging into the data,” Heather Manchester, director of curriculum, said.

The new Maine Educational Assessment tests were administered last spring after state lawmakers got rid of an assessment test used the previous year that many called confusing and unfair.

The new assessments adopted for 2015-16, eMPowerME for grades three through eight, and SAT for high school juniors, measure Maine’s college and readiness standards established in 2011.

The state mandates 95 percent of students take the test or show a “corrective action plan” to demonstrate to the state and federal governments where students are academically.

According to the Maine Assessment and Accountability Reporting System, 1,769 School Administrative District 17 students were eligible to participate in the English language arts/literacy tests. A total of 1,741 participated for a 98.42 participation rate.

The high participation rate was noted statewide. DOE officials said that assessment participation improved substantially in 2015-16.

According to the test results released by the DOE earlier this month, in English language arts/literacy, a total of 37.68 students in the district scored at or above state expectations, as compared to 50.58 percent of student test-takers statewide who achieved the same level.

A total of 98.19 percent, or 1,738 of the 1,770 eligible students, participated in the mathematics assessment. Of that total, 25.55 percent tested at or above state expectations compared to 38.31 percent of test-takers who achieved the standard statewide.

In science, 755 of the 791 eligible students, or 95.45 percent, took the test. A total of 46.09 percent were at or above state expectations as compared to 60.97 percent of all test-takers in Maine who scored at the same level in science.

A new baseline was created for the English language arts/literacy and mathematics this year, making test result comparisons to previous years, when different assessments were administered, not advisable, according to the Department of Education. The state used a new assessment partner to administer the new English language arts/literacy test based on changes made during the 127th Maine Legislature.

“We are confident in this year’s test results, and hope parents, teachers, administrators, and other interested parties will value and utilize the data gathered through the assessment process,” Dr. Charlene Tucker, Maine DOE’s assessment and accountability team coordinator, said in a news release.

The same test will be administered in the 2016-17 school year and results are expected to be available during the summer.

“We hope the state honors its commitment to staying with the same assessment next year so that we are able to compare the results,” Manchester said.

State education officials said results were released later this year than initially planned because achievement levels had to be established and data had to be processed for the new assessments. It also took time to build the new reporting platform, according to a statement by the DOE.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net