School test scores slump

While not entirely unexpected, mixed results marked the latest release of Connecticut school test scores.

While 10th grade students generally improved scores in math, science and reading, younger students across all grades and disciplines did worse overall.

Amid statewide education reforms, state officials say the scores are disappointing.

And in Fairfield County, where many employers have expressed frustration over a lack of talented job applicants, low scores are unacceptable, said Joseph J. McGee, vice president of public policy at the Business Council of Fairfield County.

“In today”™s economy the workforce has to be educated,” McGee said. “That”™s why these test score performances are so critical. The modern economy demands an education.”

Noting the national shift from a labor-based economy to a knowledge-based one, McGee expressed the need for more college graduates to both fill positions and compete in the global economy.

Whereas someone without a high school degree may have done well financially doing manual labor years ago, that”™s no longer a reality, McGee said. Almost every job, including those in manufacturing, requires an education, if not a college degree.

A quarter of the 30 lowest-performing districts did show improvements across all test grades and content areas, and the four worst performing schools admitted into the Commissioner”™s Network each saw sooner-than-expected improvements.

Still, most students in grades three through eight did worse, which wasn”™t necessarily unexpected. The two tests administered are no longer in sync with the state”™s new common core curriculum, as Stefan Pryor, commissioner of the Department of Education, has said.

The new curriculum doesn”™t cover as many subjects as have been historically tested for, as common core standards focus more in-depth on fewer topics. As the state continues to shift its curriculum, scores are expected to decrease. However new tests will be administered during the 2014-2015 school year.

McGee said the state must do what it can to improve scores and keep students interested in learning. While wealthier, suburban schools like Greenwich preformed better on average, the schools located in more urban, high-poverty areas such as Bridgeport lagged behind.

“The economic race of who wins and loses will be tied to education,” McGee said. “To be a success you have to be continually learning. That starts in grade school.”

The achievement gap, while shrunk in some areas, did grow overall. In five out of eight opportunities the achievement gap grew between white students and those learning English, or of Hispanic or African-American descent.

“When you have a large percentage of the urban population locked into low-income status, as what”™s happened in our society, that”™s not acceptable,” McGee said. “Those students are being set up for failure, by no fault of their own ”¦ They”™re just as bright as any white child and that”™s what business is saying. We need more educated workers.”