Eight graders in Fairfield County and Connecticut improved their overall performance on the annual Connecticut Mastery Test, which the state uses to gauge performance of school districts.
The new scores came even as the state absorbed the U.S. Department of Education”™s decision not to advance its application for some $175 million in funding from the federal Race to the Top program to reward innovation in state programs.
The CMT assesses approximately 250,000 students on their application of skills and knowledge in math, reading and writing in third through eighth grades; and in science in fifth through eighth grades. The current version of the CMT was first administered in March 2006, a year that serves as a baseline for the program.
While students”™ scores statewide were up and down from 2009 to 2010, depending on the grade and discipline, scores were generally improved, particularly in the sixth through eighth grades. The state ranks students according to multiple standards, while using a “goal” criterion as its benchmark for student performance.
While Bridgeport students continue to trail those in the rest of the county and the state, eighth graders there made gains against their goals in math, reading and science, though writing scores dropped significantly as measured against goals.
“This year”™s test results show that from 2006 to 2010, there is a positive trend of improved student achievement across all six grades and academic disciplines, which is encouraging,” said Mark McQuillan, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Education, in a prepared statement. “I am pleased to see ”¦ somewhat larger gains by minority and economically disadvantaged students, which helps to close Connecticut”™s large achievement gaps. While this shows positive movement, we should all be concerned with the 30 percentage point gaps in performance among racial and economic groups that persist. We need to do more to help all children succeed.”
