Stoneham students continue steady MCAS performance
Published on October 10th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham's students largely continued to outperform pupils statewide on the MCAS exams last spring, but that gap appears to be narrowing, according to statistics from the Mass. Dept. of Education (DOE).
The MCAS results released late last week illustrate that the Stoneham Public School district again has a higher percentage of students scoring in the top ranking categories on the competency test, when compared to statewide results.
In addition, for grade 10 exams, which high schoolers must pass in order to earn a diploma, local students again fared extremely well, with 95 percent of all students trumping the English language arts test, and 94 percent of pupils doing the same on the math test.
"We are pleased to report that our scaled scores continue to exceed the state's scaled scores in most categories," said Asst. Supt. Anne Patriquin in a prepared statement.
"Looking across the district at our scores, we see strong indicators of progress in student learning and assessment at the grade 10 level. This year, 83 percent of all grade 10 students scored in the advanced/proficient category," Patriquin continued. "79 percent of all grade 10 students scored in the advanced/proficient categories on the 2007 MCAS math test."
MCAS exams are graded according to four categories, including, advanced, proficient, needs improvement, and failing.
According to the Mass. DOE figures, when compared to statewide results, Stoneham had more students ranking in the advanced category in seven of the 16 MCAS tests administered last spring.
In four other instances, the town either tied the state advanced category averages or hovered just one point lower than statewide trends.
The town's pupils also outperformed students statewide by snagging a higher incidence of proficient scores - the second highest ranking - in 12 of the 16 tests administered last spring.
In addition, statewide, students had a higher incidence of failing the exam when compared to their Stoneham counterparts. In fact, of the 16 MCAS subject tests given-out last spring, local students had a lower failure rate than pupils statewide in all but three exams.
The school district also appears to have made significant strides in elementary and middle school levels, when test results from this year are compared to in-district figures from the year prior.
Some of the school system's most significant achievements between 2006 and 2007 include:
•Grade 4 math advanced and proficient scoring jumped a staggering 23 percent, with a three percent drop in failure rates;
•Grade 5 English advanced and proficient scores increased by a combined eight percent, while failing rankings dropped by 2 percent;
•In grade 8 science and technology, proficient rankings jumped by 12 percent while failing marks decreased by four percent;
•Advanced grades for grade 8 English soared by 11 percent, alongside a seven percent surge in passing scores and a minor one percent rise in failure rates;
•Grade 3 math had a somewhat considerable six percent jump in failure rates, but the figures also show that pupils earning an advanced score shot-up by 15 percent;
•While grade 6 math had a two percent decrease in advanced scoring, those figures were more than offset by a 8 percent drop in failure rates and a 10 percent rise in those earning a passing or proficient score.
•For grade 10 math tests, students with an advanced or proficient score jumped by 12 percent, while failing grades dropped by three percent.
According to Patriquin, although central office administrators are still examining the MCAS results, school officials plan to continue placing a priority emphasis on elementary students.
"The school district is analyzing the data and will use the results to examine our efforts in aligning curriculum, materials, and instruction with state standards," said the asst. supt.
"From the preliminary analysis, the district has determined that the emphasis on our work in the immediate future will be to further examine our elementary scores as the issues raised by those scores contribute to Stoneham Middle School not achieving adequate yearly progress on the No Child Left Behind Act."
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