Ellington CMT and CAPT Test Results Presented to Board of Education

When it comes to standardized testing, freshman high school students are about the only ones who can catch a break.

From grade 3 through 8, Connecticut students are required to take the annual Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT). They get a one year break, and then as sophomores are required to take the Connecticut Aptitude Performance Test (CAPT).

In all grades, the tests measure student performance in reading, writing, and mathematics. Additionally, students taking the CMT in grades 5 and 8 and sophomores taking the CAPT are tested in their knowledge and understanding of science.

Recently, the Ellington Board of Education was presented with the 2011 test score results. Dr. Erin McGurk, Director of Educational Services presented the results of the CMT testing, while Neil Rinaldi, Principal of Ellington High School presented the CAPT results.

In the CAPT results, Ellington students consistenty performed above the statewide average in the various disciplines, but slightly below the average for its District Reference Group (DRG) which includes 30 towns of similar size enrollment and demographics. Other towns in Ellington's DRG include Bolton, Tolland, Andover, Hebron, and Columbia.

In the CMT results, Ellington students also consistently peformed above statewide averages. Grade 6 students performed above DRG average in math. Grade 5 and 7 students performed above DRG average in both math and writing skills. Grade 8 students performed above DRG average in all four disciplines.

McGurk explained that prior to "No Child Left Behind," special education students could opt out of taking the CMT. However, today all students are required to be tested - a positive, as she said it calls upon districts to pay greater attention to the needs of special education students. McGurk said there are three testing options for students who receive special education services.

In the first option, special education students may take the standard test but with an accomodation for their disability. In the second option, students may take the Modified Assesment System test (MAS) which is based on grade level expectations but which include shorter reading passages and additional support.

"Students in general who take the MAS are typically achieving at lower academic levels," said McGurk.

A third option is a skills check list for mostly cognitively disabled students in which the individual teacher assesses students.

McGurk said about 30 of the 61 students who took the MAS last year performed at goal and were moved back into the standard administration test. However, many of the 30 did not meet goal on the standard CMT test this year, and so while it seemed like a good idea at the time to move them up, in hindsight she said she is not so sure.

"It's hard to generalize (why some special education students did not perform as well as was expected) because each student has a unique academic profile," said McGurk, a former special education teacher herself. "This will be an area we'll need to monitor each year for individual special education students."

Overall, McGurk said there has been some good growth for students in grades 3 through 8.

Superintendent of Schools Stephen Cullinan said the tests help in gauging whether intervention services are being effective and help in the decision-making on what the configuration of student services will look like.

"I think the trend is positive," he said. "The landscape will change a little as we go, but there are positive pieces each year."

Rinaldi said the fact that students must perform at the proficient level in math, science, and either reading or writing as a requirement to graduate drives the point home for many high school students.

Rinaldi said freshman students can take a practice test to prepare for the actual test they will take in their sophomore year. Additionally, shortly before the test is administered, the math department offers four after school drill sessions to prepare for the test and they tend to get 70 to 80 percent participation from students who did not make the proficiency level in their first try.

Rinaldi added that the school has implemented a number of intervention strategies, such as enrolling incoming freshman with performance deficiencies in math in a second math class.

"Something similar was done with English classes, where kids found to be struggling in English get a double dose of classes," he said.

Rinaldi said Level 3 classes have been eliminated at the high school and a co-teaching model has been implemented to help zone in on identifying students' readiness levels.

Overall, 82.6 percent of sophomores performed at or above proficiency levels in all four disciplines, and 35.7 percnet of students peformed at or above goal.