Date: Fri 23-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

Mastery-test-results-CMT

Full Text:

Newtown Keeps Up Its Good Grades

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Newtown students, especially eighth graders, continue to do well in the

Connecticut Mastery Test, a statewide test of reading, writing and mathematics

for fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade students.

John Reed, superintendent of schools, said that "one encouraging trend is that

the longer the students are in the school system, the better they do."

Dr Reed said that the CMT tests will be analyzed over the next several weeks

and used for continuous improvement within the schools. He said that he "would

like to see more improvement in the sixth-grade level, which has remained

relatively static in recent years. Fourth grade is up a bit."

Reading

Les Weintraub, principal of the Newtown Middle School, said that the middle

school was very proud of the results. Eighth graders did well in all areas,

especially reading.

At the eighth-grade level, 86 percent of Newtown students met pre-set criteria

for "degrees of reading power" as compared to 79 percent throughout

Educational Reference Group B (ERG B). For comparison purposes, the state

groups towns and cities according to socio-economic similarities.

Newtown topped ERG B in eighth-grade reading, beating Greenwich (73 percent),

Madison (81 percent), and Monroe (73 percent), to name a few. (ERG B is

thought of as the second wealthiest of the nine groupings for comparison

purposes.)

The percentage of sixth graders meeting the reading goal is down this year,

from 77 percent to 73 percent, placing Newtown marginally below the average of

76 percent for ERG B.

Fourth-grade reading shows 72 percent of the students meeting the goal, up

from 66 percent last year. Newtown is now above the average of 71 percent for

ERG B in fourth-grade reading.

Writing

Writing scores, although lower than last year, still compare favorably with

ERG B averages.

The number of eighth graders meeting the criteria for writing is down this

year from 81 percent in the 1996 test to only 75 percent in the test

administered last fall.

This is still well above the comparative figure of 67 percent meeting goal

throughout ERG B.

Sixth-grade writing fell marginally from 62 percent to 61 percent meeting

criteria, but still above ERG B averages of 57 percent.

Fourth-grade writing took a drop from 66 percent meeting criteria last year to

only 61 percent in the current test results. This falls below ERG B's average

of 63 percent.

Dr Reed and Mr Weintraub agree that, in general, the learning objectives for

the district are closely aligned with the skills tested with the CMT. Dr Reed

commented, however, that "we are struggling with finding a balance with

writing."

He explained that teachers generally encourage students to write and revise

their work over time, then hand it in for marking when they have a finished

product. The CMT writing test, since it is administered during one hour of one

certain day, cannot fully capture the whole writing process.

The CMT writing "prompts" favor a certain method of writing, one where a rough

draft, following a certain format, can be completed within the 45-minute test

period.

Dr Reed said that "the more time you spend dealing with formats [in

preparation for the CMT], the more pay-off you get in elevated scores." He

noted that "because we have been fortunate, with no very low scores, we can

search for the most appropriate balance."

Mathematics

Mathematics scores are up in all levels. Fourth-grade mathematics increased

from 72 to 74 percent of students meeting the goal, which is two points below

the average for ERG B of 76 percent.

Sixth grade, although improved substantially over last year (from 63 percent

to 68 percent meeting criteria), still falls short of the ERG B average of 71

percent of students meeting the goal.

Eighth-grade math has shown steady improvement, from 62 percent of Newtown

Middle School students reaching the pre-set goal in 1993, to 75 percent in the

current test period. Newtown scores are well above the ERG B average of 71

percent of eighth graders meeting the goal this year.

Mr Weintraub attributes the increase in math scores to many factors, including

creative approaches to teaching that help students develop higher-order

thinking skills and "explore their inner genius."

Mr Weintraub spoke enthusiastically about several programs to promote

mathematical understanding in a fun and engaging manner.

One is the seventh-grade program where students "sail off on your own." By

imagining themselves in college and preparing a realistic budget, they

practice math skills while appreciating real-life applications of mathematics.

Another popular program is the stock market game. It teaches sixth graders

math skills and the excitement of business by having them follow the stock

market and decide when to buy or sell using simulated dollars.

For next year, Mr Weintraub would like students to make suggestions for

covering the curriculum in fun ways.

Dr Reed said that there is "no doubt that the CMT drives math and language

curriculum development. These are high profile tests."

Linda Siciliano, principal of Hawley School, commented that the CMT results

help the school in several areas. They help with programmatic issues, and also

they help to identify students who are experiencing difficulties.

She said "the CMTs are one measure of how our students perform in important

areas. It becomes part of the assessment process. We use many."