##### U.S. Department of Education November 2002

**2002-2003 *No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program***

**Cover Sheet**

Name of Principal Mr. Richard E. Rominski

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the
official records)

Official School Name Delano Middle School

(As it should appear in the official records)

School Mailing Address 700 Elm Avenue East

(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address)

Delano Minnesota 55328-9183

City State Zip code+4 (9 digits total)

Tel. [( 763 ) 972-3365]{.underline} Fax [( 763 ) 972-6706]{.underline}

Website/URL [delano.k12.mn.us]{.underline} Email
rrominski@delano.k12.mn.us

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2 and certify that to the best of my
knowledge all information is accurate.

Date March 14, 2003

(Principal's Signature)

*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write
N/A in the space.*

Name of Superintendent Dr. Howard Carlson

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)

District Name [Delano Public Schools]{.underline} Tel. [( 763 )
972-3365]{.underline}

I have reviewed the information in this application, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my
knowledge it is accurate.

Date March 14, 2003

(Superintendent's Signature)

Name of School Board

President/Chairperson Mr. Howard Glas

(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)

I have reviewed the information in this package, including the
eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my
knowledge it is accurate.

Date March 14, 2003

(School Board President's/Chairperson's Signature)

**[PART II ‑ DEMOGRAPHIC DATA]{.underline}**

**DISTRICT** (Questions 1‑2 not applicable to private schools)

1\. Number of schools in the district: 1 Elementary schools

1 Middle schools

Junior high schools

1 High schools

3 TOTAL

2\. District Per Pupil Expenditure: \$6,342

Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: \$7,049

**SCHOOL** (To be completed by all schools)

3\. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:

> \[ \] Urban or large central city
>
> \[ \] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
>
> \[ \] Suburban
>
> \[ X\] Small city or town in a rural area
>
> \[ \] Rural

4\. 16 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at
this school.

N/A If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at
this school?

5\. Number of students enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in
applying school:

  ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- -- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------
  **Grade**   **\# of   **\# of                **Grade      **Grade**   **\# of   **\# of     **Grade
              Males**   Females**              Total**                  Males**   Females**   Total**

  **K**                                                     **7**       79        76          155

  **1**                                                     **8**       66        84          150

  **2**                                                     **9**                             

  **3**                                                     **10**                            

  **4**                                                     **11**                            

  **5**       86        71                     157          **12**                            

  **6**       77        89                     165          Other                             

                                    **TOTAL                                                   627
                                    STUDENTS                                                  
                                    IN THE                                                    
                                    APPLYING                                                  
                                    SCHOOL**                                                  
  ----------- --------- ----------- ---------- --------- -- ----------- --------- ----------- ---------

6\. Racial/ethnic composition of 95.86 % White

the students in the school: 1.40 % Black or African American

1.25 % Hispanic or Latino

1.09 % Asian/Pacific Islander

.40 % American Indian/Alaskan Native

**100% Total**

7\. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 3.7 %

> (This rate includes the total number of students who transferred to or
> from different schools between October 1 and the end of the school
> year, divided by the total number of students in the school as of
> October 1, multiplied by 100.)

  ----------- ---------------------------------- ------------------------
  **(1)**     Number of students who transferred 10
              ***to*** the school after October  
              1 until the end of the year.       

  **(2)**     Number of students who transferred 12
              ***from*** the school after        
              October 1 until the end of the     
              year.                              

  **(3)**     Subtotal of all transferred        22
              students \[sum of rows (1) and     
              (2)\]                              

  **(4)**     Total number of students in the    594
              school as of October 1             

  **(5)**     Subtotal in row (3) divided by     .037
              total in row (4)                   

  **(6)**     Amount in row (5) multiplied by    3.7
              100                                
  ----------- ---------------------------------- ------------------------

8\. Limited English Proficient students in the school: 0 %

0 Total Number Limited English Proficient

Number of languages represented: N/A

Specify languages:

9\. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 9.53 %

61 Total Number Students Who Qualify

> If this method is not a reasonably accurate estimate of the percentage
> of students from low‑income families or the school does not
> participate in the federally‑supported lunch program, specify a more
> accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it
> arrived at this estimate.

10\. Students receiving special education services: [12.5]{.underline} %

[80]{.underline} Total Number of Students Served

> Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to
> conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education
> Act.

3 Autism \_\_\_\_Orthopedic Impairment

\_\_\_\_Deafness 13 Other Health Impaired

\_\_\_\_Deaf-Blindness 25 Specific Learning Disability

\_\_\_\_Hearing Impairment 37 Speech or Language Impairment

1 Mental Retardation \_\_\_\_Traumatic Brain Injury

1 Multiple Disabilities \_\_\_\_Visual Impairment Including Blindness

11. Indicate number of full‑time and part‑time staff members in each of
    the categories below:

    **Number of Staff**

**[Full-time]{.underline}** **[Part-Time]{.underline}**

Administrator(s) 1 -0-

Classroom teachers 19 -0-

Special resource teachers/specialists 15 -0-

Paraprofessionals 10 -0-

> Support staff 2 -0-
>
> Total number 47 -0-

12\. Student-"classroom teacher" ratio: 29.8/1.0

13\. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students. The student
drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students
and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same
cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of
entering students; divide that number by the number of entering
students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly
explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout
rate and the drop-off rate. Only middle and high schools need to supply
dropout and drop-off rates.

  ------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                           2001-2002   2000-2001   1999-2000   1998-1999   1997-1998

  Daily student attendance 98.47%      96.92%      98.02%      95.95%      97.91%

  Daily teacher attendance 98.0%       98.01%      98.0%       98.0%       98.0%

  Teacher turnover rate    4.8%        3.0%        5.0%        5.0%        5.0%

  Student dropout rate     0           0           0           0           0

  Student drop-off rate    1.67%       .59%        .90%        1.81%       0%
  ------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

**[PART III ‑ SUMMARY]{.underline}**

Delano Middle School in Delano, Minnesota, is a suburban/rural community
located thirty-five miles from downtown Minneapolis. Students come from
a variety of backgrounds; however, most are predominately Caucasian and
middle class on the socio-economic scale. Our location adjacent to the
Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area results in about eighty percent
of our parents commuting to work. Our staff are highly trained
professionals. Over forty percent possess an advanced educational degree
and over fifty percent have earned college credit beyond the B.A.
degree.

Delano Middle School's mission is to work in partnership with the
community to create a climate of success for all learners. We believe in
educating individuals to be life-long learners, who possess the skills,
knowledge, creativity, sense of self-worth and citizenship necessary to
function and flourish in a global society. We begin by providing a
strong foundation in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics. In
addition students are able to take advantage of learning opportunities
in the social sciences, natural sciences and music. We have consistently
been in the top five percent of school districts in Minnesota on the
annual Basic Standards Tests in Reading and Mathematics administered in
February to students in grade eight. Last year our district was the
second highest scoring district in Minnesota on the mathematics test.

All students begin their day in an advisory group. When students enter
the middle school, they are assigned to a middle school teacher who they
stay with for their entire middle school years. As a result each student
in our building has a significant adult who will be with them for four
years. During that time, advisors get to know their students quite well
and act as an advocate and mentor for them.

Students in grades five and six have a base room teacher who provides
instruction in reading, language arts, and one additional core subject.
Students are instructed by other grade level professionals in the
remainder of the core areas. Specialists teach in the areas of physical
education, art, music, industrial technology and family and consumer
science. The schedule for students in grades seven and eight is a block
schedule. The day is divided into four blocks of time, each
approximately ninety minutes in length. Students take one-half of their
course-load on Day One and the remainder of their courses on Day Two.
The days alternate every day, hence the name Alternating Day Block
Schedule. In addition to the classes listed above, students have
extended learning opportunities in all of the core areas including
physical education, allied arts and Spanish.

Opportunities for students who have demonstrated outstanding ability
exists both within and outside the traditional classroom. Competitions
occur in many programs under the auspices of our Talent Development
Program. Students participate in programs such as Spelling and Geography
Bees, History Day, Math Masters, DestiNation Imagination, and Science
Olympiad. Our school won the state title last year in the state Science
Olympiad contest and went on to compete at the national level in
Connecticut. We also have had DestiNation Imagination teams place first
at the state level and compete at the world level.

Our philosophy at Delano Middle School is to recognize and reward as
many students as possible for their academic, co-curricular, and
extra-curricular performances. Students are rewarded on a monthly basis
for citizenship and on a quarterly basis for academics and deportment.
We also recognize students once a year for attendance and have developed
this program in conjunction with the Minnesota Twins Professional
Baseball Team.

**[PART IV -- INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS]{.underline}**

1\. [Reading]{.underline} -- Grade 5

The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in Math, Reading and Writing are
administered over a

two-week period in March. Every student who is present on the day the
test is administered participates in the test with the exception of
students who have severe and/or profound mental handicaps. This would
amount to one-two students. Any other student not taking the test was
absent on the day it was administered and also on the make-up day. Over
the last four years Delano Middle School has improved the percentage of
fifth grade students reading at grade level and above (Level IIB, III
and IV) from seventy-one percent (1998-99) to ninety percent (2001-02).
This was accomplished despite the fact that the class tested in 2001-02
had one of the higher special education sub groups in recent years with
twenty-four students or 10.5 percent of the class.

The test results demonstrate that over a four-year period, Delano Middle
School fifth grade students have shown steady improvement in their test
scores and a higher percentage of students appearing in the top two
levels (Level III and IV) each year. (See Appendix A) The ninety percent
of the fifth grade class reading above grade level (Level IIB, III and
IV) in 2001-02 was one of the highest percentages in the Metropolitan
Minneapolis/St. Paul Area as reported in the September 2002 issue of the
[Minneapolis Star Tribune]{.underline}. The percent of students in the
top two levels at Delano Middle School is significantly higher than the
percent of students in the top two levels statewide. A table showing the
reading scores of Delano students compared to all students tested in the
state of Minnesota appears in Appendix A.

The definition of Minnesota Comprehensive Achievement Levels I, IIA,
IIB, III and IV appears in Appendix C.

[Mathematics]{.underline} -- Grade 5

Eighty-eight percent of the fifth graders tested in 2002 were at or
above grade level in Math (Levels IIB, III and IV). The percentage of
students in the top two levels (Level III and IV) has improved from
forty-nine percent 1988-99 to seventy-seven percent in 2001-02. At the
same time, we have significantly reduced the percentage of students in
the lowest category (Level I) over that same time span. It is
significant that only 1.28 percent of our fifth grade students score in
the lowest category and our special education population comprises 10.5
percent of the class. The percent of students in the top two levels (III
& IV) at Delano Middle School is significantly higher than the percent
of students in the top two levels in the state of Minnesota. A table
illustrating the Mathematics scores of Delano Middle School students for
the past four years as compared to students' scores statewide appears in
Appendix B.

The definitions of Minnesota Comprehensive Achievement Levels I, IIA,
IIB, III and IV appear in Appendix C.

**[PART IV -- INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS]{.underline}**

2\. Each teacher in our school is assigned to a curriculum group that
meets on a regular basis. When test results from state and national
assessments are received, the curriculum groups meet to analyze the
results and make recommendations for improvement to our site-base
management team. It is the responsibility of the site-base team to use a
strategic planning process to analyze recommendations and other raw data
such as assessment results and satisfaction, questionnaires completed by
students, parents, and staff. This information is used to identify key
result areas for our annual school improvement plan. Our school
improvement plan must contain goals that relate to improved academic
achievement. The plan is presented and results reported annually to our
Board of Education. One area that has been identified for the current
school year is to maintain/improve our math performance on the basic
standards math test administered statewide at grade eight. The data
suggested that in order to improve our scores, a higher percentage of
special education students would need to score at or above the minimum
passing level. Our special education curriculum group is in the process
of reviewing and rewriting our special education math curriculum to
insure that this goal becomes a reality.

3\. Our middle school utilizes a variety of methods to communicate with
parents, students, and the community. Internally we have a daily
bulletin where assessment results, student accomplishments, and other
information is published. We also have an area in our building that is
designated as the "Wall of Recognition". This area is accessible to the
public and achievements by students and successes of our school are
proudly displayed. Our school publishes a monthly electronic newsletter
that is sent to all staff and families that subscribe. Student
performance on standardized tests both at the national and state level
and student/school accomplishments appear in this newsletter.

Externally, the [Minneapolis Star Tribune]{.underline} annually
publishes state assessment scores in the areas of reading, writing and
mathematics for all school districts in the state of Minnesota. This
same information also appears in our local newspaper the [Delano
Eagle]{.underline} and also on our school website. Our school district
also sends an annual report on curriculum, instruction, and student
performance to all school district residents. Results from all of the
curriculum areas assessed, along with a narrative that describes student
performance in relationship to their peers on state and national
assessments is included.

4\. If our district is fortunate enough to win the award, we would
notify the Minnesota Middle School Association and the Minnesota
Association of Secondary School Principals. Our building principal is a
member of both associations and has served as president and board
director of the Minnesota Middle School Association. Both associations
publish regular newsletter that are distributed statewide. The Minnesota
Association of Secondary Principals also publishes a statewide directory
of schools with exemplary programs so that other schools may contact
them for additional information. Our middle school is already listed in
the directory and we would notify the publisher to add our Blue Ribbon
School status to the other information already listed about our school.
[The Minneapolis Star Tribune]{.underline} which has the largest
circulation in the state would also be notified as would our local
newspaper. Regionally, all schools that belong to our special education
cooperative would be made aware that we were selected.

**[PART V -- CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION]{.underline}**

1\. Curriculum

Each area of our curriculum is on a six-year continuous cycle. In year
one, teachers assess and plan. During year two, they write and review.
At year three they purchase materials. At years four and five, the staff
implements the curriculum and notes areas that need revision, and in
year six the research process begins anew. We have a Curriculum Advisory
Committee comprised of parents, community members, and staff that meets
on a regular basis to review this process and the curriculum areas(s)
that are in their "write and review" year.

All of our students in grades five through eight receive daily
instruction in the core areas of reading, language arts, mathematics,
science, and social studies. Specialists teach classes in the areas of
art, health, technology applications, keyboarding, vocal and
instrumental music, physical education, Skills for Adolescents,
industrial technology, family and consumer science, and Spanish. All
seventh grade students are enrolled in Spanish I, and about one-half of
the grade (seventy-five students) are able to take Spanish II without
schedule conflicts. Prior to this year, eighth grade students were able
to enroll in German I; however, due to budget reductions, this program
was eliminated. We are hopeful that with the recent passage of a
district excess levy referendum, we will be able to restore this
program.

Students in grades seven and eight are also able to take enrichment
courses in all of the core classes. The enrichment classes meet for
forty-five minutes on an every-other-day basis for one quarter. Some of
the classes offered are Creative Writing, Current Events, Playing the
Stock Market, Logical Thinking, Civil Rights, and Poetry.

A program that we feel has contributed to the increase in our reading
test scores is the Accelerated Reader Program for all students. In
addition, students can join an Accelerated Reader Club administered
through the Media Center. Throughout the year, students accumulate
points by reading and taking (on computer) a test for the books they
have read. At the end of the year, a recognition program for club
members is held.

The State of Minnesota currently requires that each middle school
deliver and assess nine Prepatory Standards in the following areas:
Read, Listen, View; Write and Speak; The Arts; Mathematical
Applications; Inquiry; Scientific Applications; Peoples and Cultures;
Decision Making; Economics and Business. These standards have been
embedded into our curriculum over the past six years and assigned to
various courses. These standards are taught and assessed at a high
level, and are designed to prepare students for the more challenging
Minnesota Graduation Standards that they will need to complete in high
school.

**[PART V -- CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION]{.underline}**

[2. Reading]{.underline}

Delano Middle School offers many opportunities for students to improve
their reading performance. We are very proud of our efforts with all
students and our reading test scores reflect this. During the regular
school day, we have two paraprofessionals assigned to work with students
who need extra support in reading and math. These paraprofessionals work
one to one or with small groups of students who need remediation on
identified skills. The paraprofessionals assist the classroom teachers
by monitoring students during the guided reading process. Another
important reading program at Delano Middle School is managed by our
media specialist. She reports that our circulation of reading books has
increased because of our Accelerated Reading Program. Middle school
students enjoy reading a book and taking the ten-point quiz to check for
understanding. Data is gathered on our students' reading habits and
performance. Student reading progress is monitored by using the STAR
reading assessment program. Teachers, students, and parents find this
reading data helpful in determining what skills need to be improved.
Through the Accelerated Reading Program we can monitor the reading level
of books that each student reads. We can check for comprehension and
move the student to the next level as reading skills increase. An after
school program is offered from 3:00-4:30 P.M. daily for students who
need additional help in any course work. We focus our attention on
homework but also provide support for the basic skills of reading and
mathematics. Students are supervised by a licensed teacher and meet in
the media center where they have access to books as well as the computer
banks. With the partnership of all of these programs, Delano Middle
School has been able to produce strong, capable readers.

[3. Other Curriculum]{.underline}

In the area of mathematics Delano Middle School curriculum supports the
mission statement "to educate to be life-long learners, possessing the
skills, knowledge, creativity, sense of self-worth, and citizenship
necessary to function and flourish in a rapidly changing society." The
mathematics curriculum supports this through units on number sense;
space, shape and measurement; data investigations; patterns,
relationships and functions; and discrete mathematics. Sci-Math endorsed
textbook series form the basis of the curriculum and connect student
experiences to real world math applications. In the units students have
the opportunity to observe the interaction of mathematics with other
school subjects and with everyday society. They use problem solving to
see alternate solutions to issues, and they define more than a single
solution to many mathematical questions. Such knowledge leads to
development of students' creativity. Delano Middle School students are
encouraged to keep pace with the rapidly changing society through their
use of technology. Through this powerful medium students explore math
concepts and develop their mathematical reasoning. As they experience
mathematics and technology, they parallel many of their parent's
experiences in the work place, building a sense of self-worth. Because
of society's expanding use of data, students work with probability and
statistics to help them become informed citizens, intelligent workers,
and discriminating consumers for their future.

[4. Instructional Methods]{.underline}

Delano Middle School teachers use a variety of instructional methods to
improve student learning. From goal setting and regular performance
monitoring to multiple intelligences, the teachers strive to meet the
needs of all learners.

Delano Middle School has become one of the highest performing schools on
the state writing test as measured by the Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessment Test given at grade five. Our school also scores consistently
among the top five to ten percent of all school districts in Minnesota
on the Basic Standards Test. This test assesses students in reading and
math and is administered at grade eight. Teacher attention to all
learning styles and other effective teaching techniques contribute to
our excellent test results. For example, to improve student performance
in writing, teachers use the hamburger poster as a visual strategy to
help students remember what goes into a good paragraph. The top bun
forms the topic sentence that holds the sandwich together. Lettuce,
catsup, mustard, and pickles form good supports for the hamburger and
represent the support sentence with reasons or evidence. The main idea
or meat of the sandwich is the hamburger patty. Students learn that
peanut butter is not appropriate for the sandwich because its flavor
does not "go with" the other flavors offered, just as some ideas do not
follow certain topic sentences. Such visual posters and images help
students remember how to write strong paragraphs and essays.

Delano teachers design lessons based on multiple intelligences and
differentiated instruction. Some set up eight stations with a variety of
activities used to teach the content. Others offer students choice with
project menus that cover many of the intelligence areas. Students can
select their favorite ways to study the content. With the assistance of
the gifted and talented coordinator, the teachers have developed
teaching techniques that offer a variety of levels of work to meet the
needs of the emerging learner, the grade level learner, and the advanced
learner. Teachers differentiate lessons based on learning style,
interest areas, and ability levels. Delano Middle School teachers agree
that no child should be left behind and their wealth of teaching
strategies supports that.

[5. Professional Development]{.underline}

Delano Middle School's professional development program has played an
important role in improving student achievement, especially in the area
of writing. When the state first administered the Minnesota
Comprehensive Assessment Test, Delano Middle School fifth graders scored
very low in all four categories of writing. We contacted the three
schools whose students earned the highest scores in the state. We asked
them how they produced such outstanding results. They identified two
things: each school had one teacher who had a passion for writing and
coached the other grade level teachers, and each school had trained
their staff in the Six Traits of Writing. Based on this research, our
next staff development plan included hiring one of the teachers with a
passion for writing from one of the top schools. She will provide
in-service for our fifth through eighth grade teachers once a month over
the next three months. We required all teachers to attend because we
knew how important it was that all teachers acquire these skills. We
hired two Six Traits trainers for two workshop days. The following year
we moved to an interdisciplinary model. We formed study groups of six
teachers who met regularly to discuss how students were progressing with
their writing efforts. On a later workshop day, we asked teachers to
attend one of three sessions on the Six Traits, either an introduction,
an application, or an advanced class. Since then we have offered
"booster shot" sessions on specific writing techniques. Today our
writing scores match those top three schools who shared their staff
development process with us.

# Appendix A

**Appendix A -- [Reading]{.underline} Grade 5**

  ------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
  Testing month -- March               2001-2002   2000-2001   1999-2000   1998-1999

  **SCHOOL SCORES (percent)**                                              

  Level I                              3.16        7.09        3.05        9.48

  Level IIA                            6.96        3.94        11.45       18.97

  Level IIB                            7.59        10.24       11.45       18.10

  Level III                            41.14       48.82       40.46       43.10

  Level IV                             41.14       29.92       33.59       10.34

  Number of Students Tested            158         133         135         116

  Percent of Students Tested           98          96          97          94

  Number of Students Absent/Excluded   4           6           4           7

  Percent of Students Absent/Excluded  2           4           3           6

  **STATE SCORES (percent)**                                               

  Level I (\<1259)                     10.5        11.1        14.5        18.1

  Level IIA (1260-1419)                14.8        15.1        18.7        22.8

  Level IIB (1420-1499)                10.8        10.9        15.1        14.5

  Level III (1500-1709)                38.6        38.8        35.8        33.3

  Level IV (1710\>)                    25.4        24.1        15.9        11.3

  STATE MEAN SCORE                     1552.4      1545.2      1493.2      1451.4
  ------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

**Appendix B**

**Appendix B -- [Mathematics]{.underline}** Grade 5

  ------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
  Testing month -- March               2001-2002   2000-2001   1999-2000   1998-1999

  **SCHOOL SCORES (percent)**                                              

  Level I                              1.28        4.72        1.55        6.09

  Level IIA                            10.26       11.02       15.50       28.70

  Level IIB                            10.90       10.24       11.63       15.65

  Level III                            46.79       48.62       42.64       45.22

  Level IV                             30.77       25.20       28.68       4.35

  Number of Students Tested            156         127         129         115

  Percent of Total Students Tested     96          95          96          94

  Number of Students Absent/Excluded   6           6           6           8

  Percent of Students Absent/Excluded  4           5           4           6

  **STATE SCORES (percent)**                                               

  Level I (\<1239)                     10.2        11.2        13.5        18.4

  Level IIA (1240-1419)                14.8        21.5        24.8        30.0

  Level IIB (1420-1499)                10.8        16.8        16.1        15.2

  Level III (1500-1709)                38.6        37.4        33.3        30.8

  Level IV (1710\>)                    25.4        13.1        12.3        5.6

  STATE MEAN SCORE                     1552.4      1492.4      1469.8      1416.8
  ------------------------------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

**Appendix C**

**Appendix C -- [Definitions of Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
Achievement Levels]{.underline}**

I. Gaps in knowledge and skills -- Students scoring in this level have
gaps in the knowledge and skills necessary for satisfactory work in the
state's content standards. Poor reading skills may impact math
comprehension skills. Students at this level typically need additional
instruction to progress beyond finding obvious answers and simple
details. They are typically working significantly below grade-level in
one or more content areas. They need supplementary instruction in math
and/or reading, as early as possible, to have a good chance of passing
the Basic Skills tests administered for the first time in 8^th^ grade.

IIA. Partial knowledge and skills -- Students scoring in Level IIA have
partial knowledge and some of the skills necessary for achieving
satisfactory work in the state's content standards. They are typically
working at, or slightly below, grade-level material in one or more
content areas. Additional instruction and homework in reading
comprehension may be helpful to increase math and /or reading at each
grade to increase their chances of passing the Basic Skills test
administered for the first time in 8^th^ grade.

IIB. Solid grade level skills -- Most students in this level are working
successfully on grade-level material and are on track to achieve
satisfactory work in the state's content standards. Students scoring in
Level IIB are progressing with their peers in understanding the content
material at grade level. With continued steady progress between now and
their taking the Basic Skills tests in 8^th^ grade, they would have a
good chance of passing these tests the first time.

III\. Working above grade level -- Students at this level are working
above grade level. Many are proficient with challenging subject matter.
Students at this level demonstrate solid performance and competence in
the knowledge and skills necessary for satisfactory work in the state's
content standards. Students scoring in Level III are working above grade
level; many are proficient with challenging subject matter. Students in
this level are typically in the top 25% nationally. With continued
educational progress, these students have a high probability of passing
the 8^th^ grade Basic Skills test the first time.

IV\. Superior performance beyond grade level -- Students at this level
demonstrate superior performance, well beyond what is expected at the
grade level. Students scoring in Level IV demonstrate advanced academic
performance, knowledge, and skills that exceed the level necessary for
satisfactory work in the state's content standards. Their performance is
well above grade-level expectations; they can analyze and interpret
complex problems and situations. Students in this level are typically in
the top 5%-10% on nationally-administered tests and have a very high
probability of passing the 8^th^ grade Basic Skills tests the first
time.