Math, Science Scores Dip; Reading, Writing Improves

Newtown 10^th graders saw a sizeable dip in the percentage of students scoring at or above goal in math – the lowest percentage in five years – while writing scores were at the highest they have been during that same period, according to results of the 2011 Connecticut Academic Performance Tests results released Tuesday.

In addition, science scores saw decreases while reading scores saw gains, according to the results.

Overall, the results were different from the state, which saw an increase in the percentage of students scoring at or above goal and proficient level in math, science and writing, but a decrease in reading scores.

In Newtown, 68.5-percent of 10^th graders scored at or above goal in math, which is more than 5 percentage points less than last year’s CAPT math scores, the data shows. The result was the lowest Newtown has garnered in the past five years.

In 2007, which is considered the baseline for the CAPT, Newtown had 68.7 students scoring at or above goal in math, according to the data. Prior to this year, the percentage had climbed to be consistently above 70-percent, according to the data.

The results were still comparably better than the state, which saw a slight increase in the percent of students scoring at or above goal in math to 49.6-percent this year.

“Historically, the percentage of students scoring at or above the goal level has been an important indicator of the quality of the secondary school education in Connecticut,” according to a press release the state Department of Education released.

In contrast, the percentage of students scoring at or above the 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 number of Newtown 10^th graders scoring at or above proficient level in math also experienced a decrease from last year by a full percentage point to  94.4-percent. Across the state, 80.3-percent of students scored at or above the proficient level, which was an increase of about 1.5 percentage points from last year's math scores.

In addition, in science, 62.6-percent of Newtown students scored at or above goal, which is a decrease of more than a percentage point from last year. Also in science, 93.4-percent scored at or above proficiency, which is a decrease of nearly 2 full percentage points.

On the other hand, reading and writing scores, saw increases with the district posting its best writing results in five years.

In Newtown, 78.1-percent students scored at-or-above-goal, and 96.7-percent at-or-above-proficient in writing. Those results are an increase from last year of nearly 2 full percentage points and 1.5 percentage points respectively.

Writing scores have been steadily improving with the percentage of Newtown students scoring at or above goal and proficiency increasing every year.

Reading also experienced gains with 67-percent of Newtown students scoring at or above goal – an increase from last year of .8 percentage points – and 94.5-percent of Newtown students scoring at or above proficient – an increase of 1.4 percentage points.

Correction: Students scoring at or above goal in reading has increased from last year by a .8 percentage point. An earlier version of this article provided an incorrect amount.