Cheshire Students Score High On Mastery Test

July 29, 2010 by Josh Morgan

Connecticut Mastery Test results were released recently and Cheshire fared extremely well, when compared to towns in the same reference group and the state as a whole.
Earlier this month, the results of the CMT were released publicly and the Town was at or above its goal in every category and every grade level in 2010. Math, science, reading, and writing results show that more than 90 percent of eighth graders in Cheshire are proficient in those subject areas. Sixth and seventh graders were all well over 90 percent proficient as well in math, reading and writing subjects, but those students do not take the science portion of the tests. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Florio said he was happy with the results, noting improvements in the scores from year to year.
"Overall, I was pleased with the scores," Florio said. "It shows some growth. In almost every situation, the test scores improved and the students are achieving at a high level as they move forward."
Florio said, when comparing results to previous years, it was important not to compare sixth graders to last year’s sixth graders. Instead, he looks at the 2009 fifth grade results and compares them with the 2010 sixth grade results, as that is the same group of students. It is in those comparisons where Florio highlights improvements, or potential shortfalls, within the district.
For instance, in 2009, seventh graders were 96.4 percent proficient in math and 94.2 percent proficient in reading. In 2010, eighth graders were 97.3 percent and 96.1 percent proficient in those same categories. In 2009, fifth graders scored 88.4 percent proficient in reading and 94.5 percent proficient in writing. A year later, in sixth grade, the reading scores improved to 94.6 proficient, but writing dipped slightly to 93.6 percent.
Florio says those numbers show growth in the district as the students continue to learn and improve. The data also shows where maybe the students took a step back and can be used to help highlight any problems those students might be having.
"There are areas where we could improve and areas that I'm not surprised we did really well in. But, for the most part, the results were extremely positive," Florio commented. "We'll look at the results and break it down and see what they are testing. We'll look at instructional practices, curriculum, and try to strengthen it."
Compared to the other 20 towns in Cheshire's District Reference Group, the scores were in the middle to the top half. The DRG is a tool used to compare similar districts by using statistics such as socioeconomic factors and enrollment. Cheshire sixth graders did better in math than Greenwich sixth graders, but fell behind Avon, for instance. Florio is quick to note that the DRG does not look at factors such as town budgets and per pupil spending, which he touts as a major success in Cheshire as the district is typically near the bottom in per pupil spending, all while having top tier test scores.
"We're in the upper half of the DRG and there are a lot of factors at play, but not everything is shown in those results," Florio said.
Florio said from his administrative team all the way down to the classroom teachers, CMT scores will be broken down and analyzed on a per pupil basis. While the public sees overall scores for the district or particular school, Florio and his team chart each student's score from year to year, to see if there are any areas that need additional focus. Based on the results, curriculum can be altered to better meet the students' needs and teachers can adjust their lesson plans accordingly, or spend extra time with a particular student. However, those instances seem to be the exception to the rule, Florio said, as, overall, the district and students have performed at or above expectations.
"We can look at each student and make any needed assessments," Florio said. "Fortunately, there are not a significant number of students in Cheshire that need that focus."
Complete results can be found online at www.cmtreports.com.