School Committee reviews mixed MCAS results

Ware Public Schools scores beat state average in some areas

 

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

 WARE – The principals from all three Ware Public Schools were at the Oct. 10 School Committee meeting to review the district’s MCAS results for the tests taken in the spring of 2012.

“We had some mixed results,” said Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Beach, Superintendent. “I would love to see the scores higher, but I’m certainly pleased with the improvements.”

Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School Principal Daniel Somes said Grade Three English Language Arts (ELA) scores showed 59 percent of the students scored in the “advanced” or “proficient” categories, a three percent gain over 2011 scores. In Grade Three math, 38 percent of the students scored as “advanced” or “proficient,” down by 18 percent from last year’s scores. However, Somes noted that the statewide average also declined in this area.

Somes said students struggled with math open response questions. He said staff is making some changes to address this, including building lesson and unit plans in alignment with the new state standards that focus more on identifying desired outcomes first. He also said teachers will talk about goals with students. “We want kids to know what we expect of them by the end of the year in each grade level,” he said. Somes also said upcoming staff professional development days will focus on teaching math skills and helping students retain what they learn.

Robert Warren, Ware Middle School principal, was pleased with scores for Grades Four, Five and Six. “We had a good year,” he said. Grade Four ELA scores showed 51 percent scoring at the “advanced” or “proficient” level, up 17 percent from last year. Warren attributed the significant increase to the success of the “walk to read” program and thanked Somes and the Grade Three teachers for their help with providing that continuity as students transition to WMS. In math, 33 percent scored at “advanced” or “proficient.” While this is a slight decline from last year, Warren noted that two percent more students scored at “advanced.” Warren said teachers will use a new math assessment to better address the needs of the students.

Grade Five students showed 60 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level in ELA, down five percent from last year. Statewide, Grade Five ELA scores dropped by six percent. In math, Grade Five scores were up slightly to 54 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” Grade Five students’ science scores were up by 18 percent, with 51 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level.

In Grade Six ELA, Warren said 60 percent of the students were deemed “advanced” or “proficient”. This number is down by one percent, but the number of students scoring as “advanced” was up by eight percent. Math scores, with 63 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level were up by six percent over 2011 scores. Warren noted that those scores are three percent higher than the statewide average.

Warren thanked the art, music, library, computer and gym teachers for their work serving as interventionists and assisting students with math and ELA readiness. 

Dr. Marlene DiLeo, principal of WJSHS, said she was “delighted” with the school’s results, which show increases in seven out of the 8 MCAS assessments. In addition, WJSHS students out-performed the state average in several categories.

Grade Seven ELA scores were up two percent from 2011 with 72 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” In math, scores increased by 16 percent, with 56 percent of the scores at the “advanced” or “proficient” level. Statewide, the averages were 71 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

In Grade Eight, 68 percent of the students scored at “advanced” or “proficient”, a four percent increase from last year. Math scores were down by 10 percent, with 28 percent scoring at the “advanced” or “proficient” level. Science scores were up by one percent with 36 percent at “advanced” or “proficient”.

Grade 10 scores in ELA were up two percent, with 89 percent at “advanced” or “proficient,” just above the state wide average of 88 percent. Math scores were also up by two percent, with 79 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” The statewide average was 78 percent. In science, 77 percent of the students were scored at “advanced” or “proficient,” a 10 percent increase from last year and eight points higher than the state wide average. DiLeo said staff was analyzing the data to focus on the areas that proved the most challenging for students. “We continue to strive for greater increases for all grades and all content areas,” said DiLeo.

Beach said that because the district is so small, each child’s scores weigh heavily. “A percentage point could be two children,” she said. Beach added that the Grade 10 MCAS scores are “where the rubber meets the road” as students must demonstrate proficiency in order to graduate. School Committee member Danielle Souza said the district should be proud to have so many of the high school scores coming in at above the state average. “We’re definitely doing something right,” she said.

Committee member William Gunn asked if there was any way to track the progress of students who have been in Ware schools since Grade Three when MCAS testing begins. Beach said there were certain privacy limitations, but some information was available.

Beach also said the district uses a variety of assessment tools to help improve instruction, such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) tests for students in Kindergarten through Grade Six, mathematics Benchmark Unit Assessments for students in Kindergarten through Grade Eight and the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluations (GRADE) for students in grades Kindergarten through 12.