Academic Tests Scores

Show Few Variations

By Eliza Hallabeck

Overall, Newtown High School Principal Charles Dumais told the Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, September 14, test results on the American College Testing (ACT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), and advanced placement exams at the school remained consistent with past years’ results.

Early in the meeting, the school board also learned of Vice Chair Kathryn Fetchick’s resignation earlier in the day from Chairman William Hart. (See related story.) During the school board’s financial report presentation by Director of Business Ron Bienkowski, board Secretary Debbie Leidlein requested detailed information for the board’s next meeting on how much money had been saved through teachers leaving the district and how much money had been spent to hire new Head O’ Meadow Lead Teacher Jennifer Meyers.

Mr Dumais presented the test score information from the four different tests to the school board later in the meeting.

The ACT assesses how well a student would do in a college English, mathematics, reading, and science course. The SAT also evaluates college preparedness by testing mathematics, reading, and writing.

The ACT scores are valued on a 1 (low) to 36 (high) scale. While the ACT results are not available from other districts in Newtown’s District Reference Group (DRG) as they are with the SAT, Mr Dumais told the school board for each test category how Newtown students did compared to students across the state. For example, in reading, he said, “Our school has about 70 percent above the benchmark compared to 71 percent above benchmark in the state.”

There was a slight increase in test scores in English overall, while scores in mathematics remained the same, reading decreased by a point, and science increased. Overall, students performed slightly better on the ACT in 2010 compared with 2009, and results remained consistent with scores since 2007.

Nearly 80 percent of students took the SAT during the last school year, and performed higher overall compared with students who took the test in 2009. The SAT is scores are valued on a 200 (low) to 800 (high) scale, and on average in mathematics NHS students scored 553, in reading 539, and in writing 543.

Advanced placement tests are offered to students who take advanced placement course. Unlike in previous years, Mr Dumais said, students were not required to take the test, which the student must pay to take.

“And the interesting thing this year is participation didn’t drop. Actually participation is the highest it has been in one year at Newtown High School,” said Mr Dumais.

Roughly 40 percent of students take an advanced placement exam, and, Mr Dumais said, that number could rise if more classes were available for students. As it is, some students are turned away from advanced courses they may want to take. Average advanced placement scores remained consistent with previous results.

The CAPT is a state-mandated test administered to sophomores, and tests students on math, science, reading, and writing. Mr Dumais presented these results to the school board with the range of score results from Newtown’s DRG. In each category Newtown scored near the low end of scores in the DRG, but in reading Newtown’s scored increased from the previous year.

In order to make improvements, Mr Dumais said Newtown needs to look at the percentage of change wanted and the timeframe in which the district would like to achieve that change.

“I think the important thing for the board to take away,” Mr Dumais said, “that whatever efforts we are putting in, thought they may be changing, our performance compared to last year or the year before, we are dramatically falling behind our peers.”

Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said she was not saying there is a connection with spending and test scores, but said over the years Newtown has been at the bottom of per-pupil spending compared with other district’s in Newtown’s DRG. The things other districts can provide, Newtown cannot, according to Dr Robinson.

“All these things are starting to accumulate, and they are starting to show. And I think that is a reality that we have to face,” said Dr Robinson.

But, she said, student success comes down to what happens in the classroom, “and we have classrooms with high numbers, and lack of materials. I mean we sat here and debated whether we would put computers in at Reed.”

Dr Robinson thanked Newtown’s teachers who continue to learn, and principals who “get it” for the district’s accomplishments, and said pushing things forward is something the community will need to get behind for results.