MCAS: Thomson Makes the Grade

The Spring 2011 MCAS results are in, and North Andover has reason to smile.

First there's which was commended by the governor's administration for being among 18 schools statewide exited accountability status by meeting district AYP two years in a row.

“Were really happy here,” Thomson Principal Gregg Gilligan said. “The staff and the kids are the ones who have done the hard work, and their efforts are paying off. I continue to see us moving forward in a very positive way."

What's AYP?

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandates that every student be proficient in English language arts and math by 2014. In Massachusetts, this proficiency is measured by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

A school must improve in proficiency each year based on adequate yearly progress (AYP). In Massachusetts, AYP is determined by student performance on various parts of the MCAS.

If a school does not meet the required AYP two years in a row, that school is put on a strict path to improve test scores. This is known as "accountability status." There also various levels of accountability status.

By meeting AYP two years in a row, the students at Thomson pulled the school out of accountability status.

"We are so proud of the students, the teachers, the support staff, the principal and the entire Thomson community," Superintendent Chris Hottel said in a statement.

District Improvement

Town-wide, North Andover improved in all three measurements.

• In counting students who are advanced or proficient, that percentage rose from 77 percent to 79 percent in English and 65 percent to 67 percent in math.
• In Student Growth Percentile, the district improved from 50 percent to 56 percent in English and from 52 percent to 54 percent in math.
• In the Cumulative Performance Index (a measurement used to calculate AYP but is being phased out for the Student Growth Percentile) the district improved from 91.5 to 92.1 in English and from 84.9 to 85.6 in math.