State Department of Education Releases 2011 CAPT Scores

Tolland’s 10^th grade students have generally improved or held steady in writing and reading, according to the Connecticut Academic Performance Test results, released on Tuesday by the state’s Department of Education. However, student performances in science and math have declined from 2010 to 2011.

One of the largest drops was in mathematics, with student performance at or above goal level decreasing 4.1 percent from 71 percent in the state’s baseline year of 2007, to 66.9 percent in 2011.

Student performance in science also declined sharply, dropping 4.4 percent from 65.3 percent at or above goal level in 2010 to 60.9 percent this year.

Board of Education Chairperson Robert Pagoni said that the board, Superintendent of Schools William Guzman and the school principals will be meeting in August to analyze the scores and discuss a plan to address issues.

Pagoni said that he is concerned with some of the 10^th grade CAPT scores because they show a significant decrease in percentages when compared to the CMT scores of 8^th graders, which generally show goal levels in the 80 and 90 percentages.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s basically a disconnect between the two grades,” Pagoni said.

Although Pagoni is unsure what is to blame for the discrepancy, whether it be curriculum-based, test material or a whole host of other causes, he is sure the administration will figure out the answer.

"I know we’re not going to rest on our laurels,” he said.

Tolland did show promising increases in the writing content area, surging from 58 percent at or above goal level in 2007 to an impressive 69.5 percent in 2011, an increase of 11.5 percent. Tolland’s reading percentage at or above goal level remained steady at 52.3 percent at 2007 and 2011.

The following is a breakdown of Tolland’s CAPT scores:

Mathematics

The percentage of students at or above goal level held almost even from last year, dropping slightly from 67 percent in 2010 to 66.9 percent in 2011. The drop, however, is more drastic when compared to 2007 scores, which had an at or above goal number of 71 percent. The proficiency level increased from 92.2 percent in 2010 to 93.4 percent in 2011. The 2007 baseline was 93 percent.

Science

The percentage of students at of above goal level dropped sharply from 65.3 percent last year to 60.9 percent in 2011. The 2011 percentage is even lower than the 2007 baseline, which is 61.2 percent. The at or above proficiency percentage dropped from 95.5 percent in 2010 to 93.5 percent in 2011. The baseline was 94 percent in 2007.

Reading

Tolland generally held steady in the reading section with an increase from 48.2 percent at or above goal level in 2010 to 52.3 percent in 2011. The baseline from 2007 was also 52.3 percent. The percentage of students at or above proficiency level increased steadily from 89.9 percent in 2007, to 86.4 percent in 2010 and 92.1 percent in 2011.

Writing

Tolland’s writing scores also steadily increased. In 2007, students were scoring 58 percent at or above goal level. This increased significantly in 2010, reaching 66.2 percent and continued rising in 2011 with a high of 69.5 percent of students at or above goal level. The trend held true for the proficiency scores. Percentages increased from 92.3 percent to 94.7 percent from 2010 to 2011. The 2007 baseline is 90 percent.

Statewide, Connecticut’s 10^th graders improved at or above the state’s proficiency and goal levels in almost all subject areas compared to last year, with a small decrease in reading.

Similar increases were found in all the standardized testing content areas compared to the 2007 baseline, except for goal-level reading.

“The overall trend of increasing percentages of grade 10 students scoring at the proficient and goal levels in mathematics and writing is encouraging, given that Connecticut is also decreasing high school drop-out rates and increasing graduation rates,” acting education Commissioner George Coleman said.

“However, the magnitude of the increases and the relatively flat performance in reading and science is disconcerting, given the urgency that I feel about preparing all of our high school graduates to be ready to succeed as they enter college or the state’s workforce,” he said.

According to the state’s press release, the goal level has been used historically to measure the quality of secondary school education in Connecticut. The proficiency percentages are used to identify schools making “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the No Child Left Behind act.