Standardized Test Scores Drop in Region 15

With the release of the 2011 CAPT scores Tuesday, Region 15 saw a drop in the percentage of its students scoring at or above proficiency level in each of the four testing areas.

As part of the exams administered statewide to 10th graders, 329 students were tested in Region 15. The percentage of those students scoring at a proficient level in math, science, reading and writing areas decreased both from 2010 and from 2007, considered the baseline year for the tests.

As evident in the chart above (full results attached to this article), the largest decreases from the previous year came in Science and Reading. The only area that increased from 2010 the percentage of students scoring at or above the proficient level in Math.

Region 15's results differed slightly from the state's, where there was 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.

“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,” the state Department of Education said in a release.

By 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.