Despite New Canaan's Stellar Test Scores, Educators See Room for Improvement

The scores for the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) are in and they certainly bode well for New Canaan. For third through eighth graders, the CMT is the standardized test that measures proficiency in math, reading, writing, and for fifth and eighth graders, science as well.

To put New Canaan Public School's scores in perspective, the school commonly compares their marks to those of their District Reference Group (DRG), which is comprised of seven other schools with similar socioeconomic demographics.

Among the district's DRG—which is composed of Darien, Easton, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton—New Canaan outscored other districts nine out of 20 times, with the most noticeable differences in third through fifth grade literacy.

The data is most commonly scored using the state's benchmark for standards of proficiency. For instance, New Canaan earned an 88.4 percent in third grade math, meaning 88.4 percent of third grade students are at or above proficiency for that subject.

With proficiency levels in all subjects, throughout all tested grades above 82 percent, educators have a lot to be proud of.

"[The scores] demonstrate the consistent strength in terms of student performance across disciplines and across grade levels," said Superintendent David Abbey.   

Deputy Superintendent Mary Kolek attributes the high test scores to a dedicated and well-trained staff.

"We have a very strong infrastructure of teachers," said Kolek. "They are well educated and skilled… They offer students a support system."

However, despite the solid test scores, administrators are far from taking a victory lap. Abbey says the district's goal is for at least 90 percent of all tested students to be at proficiency levels in every subject.

"There's absolute room for growth," said Abbey. "What's exciting is we're moving forward from a position of strength but clearly there is room for significant growth and we understand that."

You can view scores for the CMT's here.