Luce School most improved on ’16 standardized tests

The Luce Elementary School had the largest rate of improvement in the most recent round of standardized testing, with Jen Henderson, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, reporting significant gains in English language arts and math scores, particularly in grade 3.

Henderson credited the efforts of Luce Principal Robie Peter and her staff, especially in the area of strengthening math skills.

All parents throughout the district were mailed individual reports, and tonight, October 13, at 7 p.m. in the Galvin Middle School library, Henderson will assist parents in interpreting the PARCC and MCAS results and also provide an overview of what to expect with the next-generation MCAS testing that is set to begin this spring.

Two years ago, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gave school districts the option of administering the MCAS or PARCC tests in grades 3-8. For the spring 2016 tests, Canton school officials chose to administer the PARCC test to better prepare students for the rigors of “MCAS 2.0,” which has been described as a hybrid of MCAS and PARCC.

Students in the elementary grades took the paper-and-pencil version of PARCC in ELA and math and the MCAS test for grade 5 science. GMS students took the PARCC on computers in ELA and math, while CHS students continued with MCAS — ELA and math in grade 10 and science in grade 9.

The initial version of the next-gen MCAS tests for ELA and math will be administered this spring in grades 3-8, with next-gen tests for grade 10 coming in future years. Students in grades 5 and 8 will also take the traditional science MCAS test with a transition to the next-gen science test planned for the future. The state will also phase in the computerized version of the new tests with a goal of having all tests delivered on computers by spring 2019.

Henderson and MCAS coordinator Jayne Moore spent time over the summer mapping out a comparative analysis of MCAS and PARCC scores. MCAS tests have a high score of 280, a median of 240, and a low of 200, while comparative PARCC scores are 850 (high), 730-750 (median), and 650 (low).

Henderson and Moore said the PARCC results, despite the fact that it was a new type of test and emphasized higher-order thinking skills, were not significantly lower and in some grade levels were better than the previous year’s MCAS scores.

Providing an initial overview of testing results to the School Committee last Thursday, Henderson said the focus area for this school year will be continuing to work on math skills while setting high expectations for science at the elementary level; continuing the strong curriculum in science at the GMS; and moving more math students to the advanced level at CHS.

The Hansen School remained a Level 1 School (the highest attainable) while the other Canton schools remained at Level 2. Henderson and Moore are now digging into the individual data to assist in new curriculum design.

In other news Thursday night, the committee heard enrollment updates …

See this week’s Canton Citizen to read the full version of this story. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=34496

Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 14 2016. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.