Date: Fri 24-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

schools-CAPT-test

Full Text:

Sophomores Perform Well On CAPT Test

(with chart)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

The Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) results from sophomores

tested in May of 1997 show that Newtown students have done well.

Twenty-four percent of Newtown High School students achieved certification in

all four subject areas tested, compared to the state-wide level of just less

than 14 percent meeting the standard in all areas.

Newtown also compares favorably with other towns with similar demographics and

has shown a significant improvement in test scores over the last three years.

NHS Assistant Principal Marilyn Capizzano said, "It's a very challenging test,

but we are really pleased with our results. We are showing improvement in all

areas. We have put a lot of emphasis on `response to literature', and are

extremely pleased with our improvement."

What Does The CAPT Test?

The CAPT for tenth-grade students, the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) for

fourth-, sixth- and eighth-grade students and the SAT for twelfth-grade

students all seek to assess what a student has learned in the core subject

areas of reading, writing and mathematics, but the CAPT also aims to test

other abilities.

The CAPT also covers science and interdisciplinary studies, and incorporates

reading as a portion of the "response to literature" language arts test.

The CAPT is different from most other large tests. Carmen Jensen, chairman of

the English department at Newtown High School said that the CAPT does not test

rote-type learning. Instead we ask "what does the student know, and can they

demonstrate what they know?"

Language arts was divided into two areas; editing and response to literature.

The response to literature involved reading a short story, then doing an

analysis and interpretation of the story.

Fifty-five percent of Newtown High School students met the goal standard in

response to literature; only about 36 percent met the goal statewide.

Newtown has made great strides in this area, from 40 percent achieving the

goal in 1995, to 47 percent in 1996 to a new high of 55 percent in 1997. A

student must score at/or above the standards in both areas of language arts to

meet the goal.

Ninety-one percent of Newtown High School students reached or surpassed the

goal in the editing portion of the language arts test, where students are

expected to correct commonly made errors in English usage. Statewide, 80

percent met the standard in editing.

Mrs Capizzano said that this test is "asking students to give more of

themselves." Students are expected to think critically, reflect deeply, and

respond coherently and persuasively to thought-provoking questions.

A sample question in the mathematics section involved forecasting population

trends of a species in a wetland ecosystem. To succeed, the student needed to

compute a formula, analyze when the results indicated that a population had

stabilized, graph the results and explain them. Other questions, similarly,

required students to apply important mathematical concepts to their everyday

lives.

The test section, "interdisciplinary," is something not found on most tests

that are given to large numbers of students. Theodore Sergi, the state's

Commissioner of Education, explained, "The interdisciplinary assessment

section measures students' ability to integrate and apply skills and knowledge

across academic disciplines.

"Students are given a set of source materials representing different

perspectives on an important contemporary issue. They are asked to read the

materials and use the information to write a persuasive piece, such as a

letter to the editor of their local newspaper, which supports their own

position on the issue."

Mrs Capizzano clarified that "there is no right or wrong answer, the score is

based on how they present their position."

Some of the test questions are open-ended, such as this one in the science

conceptual understanding and applications section:

Sample Test Item

"Doctors need to be careful not to give their patients an antibiotic such as

penicillin too often. If the same antibiotic is prescribed too many times, it

can become less effective against bacteria. Explain fully why this is so."

To correctly answer this question, the student must apply knowledge of

evolution of a species to bacteria.

Here is a correct response: "Each time the antibiotic is used, some of the

bacteria survive. They survive because there is variation within the species,

and some bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic. The surviving bacteria will

reproduce to produce bacteria that are also resistant to the antibiotic. In

this way, over many generations, the bacteria will become more resistant to

the antibiotic."

Mrs Capizzano summarized that this "is not a minimum standard test."

Students who meet the goal in at least one subject area will have a notation

added to their transcript to signify their success in that test area. Students

who do not meet the standards in each subject area in tenth grade may choose

to re-write sections of the test in eleventh and twelfth grades.

The Educational Effect

Dr Sergi said, "Leaders of business and industry and higher education

institutions continue to tell us that the skills needed to succeed on the CAPT

are the same skills students will need to succeed in the workplace and in the

university setting."

Dr Sergi continues "to encourage educators to use realistic problems and

current issues that require students to apply academic skills, asking for more

oral and written explanations, and focusing on why: `How do you know?' and

`Explain your reasoning.' These approaches challenge students to think, to be

able to make judgments, and to communicate their thoughts better."

Since the initiation of the CAPT test three years ago, Dr Jensen has found

educators have increasingly come up with questions that force students to make

connections between subject areas in a conscious way.

As these CAPT results seem to show, it's working.