Test Scores of Monroe's 8th Graders Ahead of the Pack

The Connecticut Department of Education has released the statewide 2011 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scores. This comes on the heels of their release of the achievement scores (CAPT) for 10th graders.

"The results of the CAPT and CMT show a trend. Monroe teachers are doing a good job," said First Selectman Steve Vavrek. "Individual schools do have their challenges with the needed budget cuts, but Academics is alive and well in Monroe."

Equally happy about the scores is Lee Hossler, chairman of the Monroe Economic Development Commission.

"Many of the people who live here chose Monroe because of its school ranking. It brings a higher level of income people which in turn helps to support the businesses in town. We all benefit from a good school system," he said.

Student achievement is rated as Basic, Proficient, At Goal and Advanced.

Goal is considered "an above average, but attainable level," by the state Department of Education.

The Proficiency level is a lower standard of performance. The percentage of students scoring at or above Proficient-level is used to identify schools that are faltering or not making "adequately yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind act. 

The CAPT results for sophomores and the CMT scores will have no effect on funds Monroe might receive from the state for education, according to Supt. of Schools Colleen Palmer.

"Monroe is considered a high performing school district," she said.

Monroe 8^th graders’ test results on all four mandatory subjects — Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Science — show them ahead of the pack.

331 Monroe 8^th graders were tested

• 88.2 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 74.3% were At/Above Goal Level
• 41,706 Connecticut 8^th graders were tested across the state
• 67.7 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 49.7 % were At/Above Goal Level 

"The CMT test scores are important," said a Monroe mother who preferred her name not be used. She said she moved to Monroe 17 years ago because, "We felt it was a good school system. The only thing Monroe schools lack is diversity."

She admits to scrutinizing the CMT and CAPT test scores and keeps all the tests her children bring home from school. "Our five children have almost finished going through the school system," she said. "It's a good one."

The CMT achievement tests were given to her children and thousands of others this spring in grades three through eight. They were initiated in 2006 and track the success, or lack of it, by schools, and subjects, year after year.

Test results on all three mandatory subjects — Mathematics, Reading and Writing — showed Monroe students in grades Three through seven, 15 to 28 percentage points ahead of students amassed at the state level.

299 Monroe 7^th graders were tested

• 89.0 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 74.2 % were At/Above Goal Level
• 42,832 Connecticut 7^th graders were tested across the state
• 72.2 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 51.1 % were At/Above Goal Level

"Writing for all grades, including sixth grade, is incorporated into all curricular areas and considered an integral skill for students' success," Palmer said. "Writing across all curricular areas and grade levels has been a goal of the district; supporting the writing development of our students will continue to be an area of focus for our work. However, we are pleased that the sixth-grade students performed well over all."

280 Monroe 6^th graders were tested

• 90.1 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 74.1 % were At/Above Goal Level
• 42,070 Connecticut 6^th graders were tested across the state
• 75.5 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 54.3 % were At/Above Goal Level

302 Monroe 5^th graders were tested

• 87.0 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 65.6 % were At/Above Goal Level
• 41,677 Connecticut 5^th graders were tested across the state
• 67.3 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 45.2 % were At/Above Goal Level

247 Monroe 4^th graders were tested

• 89.3 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 77.5 % were At/Above Goal Level
• 41,266 Connecticut 4^th graders were tested across the state
• 66.7 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 48.1 % were At/Above Goal Level

233 Monroe 3rd graders were tested

• 87.9 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 70.1 % were At/Above Goal Level
• 40,306 Connecticut 3rd graders were tested across the state
• 65.1 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 42.9 % were At/Above Goal Level 

Jockey Hollow Region’s Top Four

When measured against the other CMT top scoring middle schools in the region — Fairfield, Trumbull and Easton — Monroe's scores for 2011 were within a fraction of a percentage point in several instances, based on each district's cumulative scores in Math, Reading, Writing and Science.

The widest margin among the schools was against Easton who topped the charts with 5.7% more students At/Above Proficient Level, and 12% more students At/Above Goal Level when compared to Monroe’s 8^th grade scores. 

136 Easton 8th graders were tested

• 93.9 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 86.3 % were At/Above Goal Level

767 Fairfield 8th graders were tested

• 87.9 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 69.3 % were At/Above Goal Level

332 Monroe 8th graders were tested

• 88.2 % were At/Above Proficient Level
• 74.3 % were At/Above Goal Level

558 Trumbull 8th graders were tested

• 88.4 % were At/Above Proficient Level  
• 74.2 % were At/Above Goal Level

Since 2006, when the first class of  309 8^th graders sat down to take the first CMT exam, subsequent 8^th grade classes have shown an increase in students at Goal and at the higher Advanced level, causing the number of students at the lower Proficiency rate (when considered by itself) to shrink. Monroe students are trying harder and achieving more.

Following the results of annual achievement tests grade by grade, and year by year, shows a steady increase in Monroe students reaching Goal. There is the occasional blip, where a percentage might dip for a subject on a particular year, but the momentum and direction of Monroe students' learning curve is unmistakable. Progress in most instances is being sustained.

In support of and contributing to the academic success of Monroe’s school children is the town's annual Summer Reading Program at the Edith Wheeler Memorial Library. Library Director Margaret Borchers has run the summer program for years, enhancing and sustaining the skills children learned in school. This summer the library staff welcomed a record 918 children and teens into their "One World Many Stories" program. 

Monroe's first selectman is pleased with the test results.

"However," he said, "there is still more to do, such as making certain the town's gifted children receive the opportunities and curriculum to keep them stimulated and learning to capacity. Re-initiating the gifted program in our schools is high on my list of priorities. It's a difficult challenge in today's economy. But I know Monroe is up to the task."