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Test scores show gains in math, declines in writing, reading
Posted on 07/21/2010
By DANIELLE CAPALBO Times Staff Writer STAMFORD -- A district analysis of standardized test scores shows that Stamford's elementary and middle school students made significant gains in mathematics over the past four years, with declines in writing and somewhat mixed results in reading. The Connecticut Mastery Test is administered annually to evaluate the reading, writing, math and science skills of nearly 250,000 students, according to the state Department of Education. Results are used to gauge which schools meet or miss academic benchmarks under the federal No Child Left Behind policy. Scores were reported by "proficient" and "goal," a more challenging level that represents the state's target for student performance. Almost across the board, Stamford students improved their performance in math over last year, with the exception of seventh grade, where the percentage of students meeting goal dropped by one point. Compared with results from the test's baseline year of 2006, all grades have improved their scores. The average gain was nine percentage points. Leaps and bounds in math held true for district subgroups, with Asian, black and Hispanic students from almost every grade level improving by at least 10 percentage points. "As we have raised the bar, students have met the challenge," said Superintendent Joshua Starr. "The same goes for our educators. I am extremely proud of the way they have wholeheartedly embraced the wide-scale curriculum reforms that are increasing student achievement." Starr attributed some of the improvements to a partnership with the GE Foundation's Developing Futures Program, which has yielded about 10 million dollars in grant money to streamline district operations and tweak curriculum and instruction, particularly in areas of math and science. As part of the CMT, fifth- and eighth-grade students complete a science component. Compared with results from last year, scores in both grades remained flat, but compared with results from 2006, the number of fifth-grade students reaching goal has increased by four percentage points, with an increase of six percentage points in the eighth grade. Fifth- and sixth-grade students made the greatest strides in any content area since 2006. The number of fifth-grade students who met goal in mathematics rose 13 percentage, while the corresponding number for sixth-grade students rose 15 percentage points. Sixth-grade students made marked gains in reading, too, with an increase of 12 percentage points of those who scored at the goal level. Writing scores appeared the weakest, where the number of seventh-grade students making goal dropped five percentage points from last year and four percentage points from 2006. Scores also dropped by three percentage points in fourth grade and one percentage point in third grade, while sixth-grade students improved their performance by four percentage points. Reading scores were somewhat steady, if not notably improved, aside from drops in fourth and fifth grade.
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