The MCAS was designed to measure how well students, schools, and districts are performing on the state's learning standards contained in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. These graphs show the growth for the same group of students who were in our school for the entire 1999-2000 school year. At the elementary or middle school level, a gain of 20 to 25 points in reading or mathematics is considered strong improvement. At the high school level, a gain of 10 to 15 points is considered strong improvement. Teachers track the progress of students and key their instruction to make gains in weak areas before the next assessment.
Students also take a cumulative math test three times a year.
In Science, we are developing unit tests at each grade level with the help of two consultants. Last spring's Stanford 9 test results showed some very solid achievement. But there is still lots of room for improvement. We are focusing on using our school department Transition budget and our Nellie Mae Foundation grant to develop the most effective practices. We are placing special emphasis on aligning our curriculum with the expectations of the MCAS tests our students take in Grades 3-5 and bringing extra support to students who are struggling.