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School board members are asking why third-grade scores on state mastery tests at Mary Murphy Elementary School dropped so drastically in the past year. And they want to know what steps are being taken to help the students.
“I was taken aback by Mary Murphy scores in reading, writing and math,” said board member David Squires (at left in photo), who started the discussion at a recent Board of Education (BOE) meeting. He was particularly concerned about the drop in third-grade math from 78.9 percent at or above goal in 2012, to 30.1 percent on the 2013 Connecticut Mastery Tests. “Can you tell me why?”
In addition to the drop in math scores, there were declines in the other two test areas. In reading, third graders at Murphy dropped from 60.8 percent at or above goal in 2012, to 42.9 percent in 2013. In writing, the percentages dropped from 50 percent in 2012 to 33.3 percent in 2013.
“What went wrong? It is very dramatic,” said board member Susan Wharfe.
“It’s difficult not to be struck by the magnitude of the change,” said board Chairman Frank Carrano. He asked if there were signs in first and second grade that the students were having trouble. “I just want to be sure they have the opportunity to learn,” he said. “Were appropriate methods taken earlier?”
Dr. Anthony Buono, who served as principal at Murphy until he was appointed associate superintendent this year, said there were prior indications students in that class were having difficulty learning and that efforts were made to help them. He said Murphy has different demographics than the other two elementary schools.
“We made modifications to support them instructionally,” Buono said. “There’s a number of interventions.” He said students have been receiving individualized or small-group instruction, and that the district has tried to keep class sizes small.
“We don’t make any excuses about the performances of our students,” said Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez, who said it’s unusual to have scores that low. “This is not about casting blame … but it causes us to pause and say, ‘What is happening in that grade level?’”
Hernandez said that compared to the other two elementary schools, Mary Murphy has a higher number of students whose primary language in not English, more students with special needs, more low-income families, and a higher rate of families who move frequently.
“Low scores were not a surprise … but the surprise is the degree of the dip,” Hernandez said. “We clearly have some more work to do.” He said instruction has been geared to meet the needs of the students.
By comparison, third-grade scores at Mary Tisko and at John B.Sliney elementary schools dropped slightly, but were still well above those at Murphy. In 2013, the percentages of third grade students at Tisko scoring at or above goal in math were 88.9 percent; reading, 76.3 percent; and writing, 79 percent. At Sliney, math was 73.1 percent; reading, 62.1 percent; and writing, 73.5 percent. At Murphy, math was 30.1; reading, 42.9 percent; and writing, 33.3 percent.
Squires asked if any changes have been made in the curriculum at Murphy because of the low scores.
Buono said there were no curriculum changes, but the teachers are adapting lessons to meet the needs of the students.
Board member Mario Sabatini asked if the demographics at Murphy are a continuing trend.
“That shift is continuing,” Buono said, and will require more resources to meet the students’ needs.
Diana Stricker Photo
Carrano (at right in photo) said the problem needs to be addressed. “I don’t want to be contentious in my last board meeting, but if the demographics of that building are changing, we have to change and adapt our resources,” said Carrano, who is retiring from public office. “It’s not a new story at Murphy … It’s a failure on our part for not identifying what their needs are.”
Michael Rafferty, who became the interim principal at Murphy school this year, told board members he has reviewed all test scores. He said the fourth-grade teachers are “very aware” of the scores the students had the previous year. “It is a very big dip and we are concerned and working very hard on it.”
According to the State Department of Education, there was a statewide decrease in 2013 from the previous year for scores on the Connecticut Mastery Tests. Statewide, 61.6 percent of third grades students scored at or above goal in math; 56.9 percent in reading; and 60 percent in writing.
GOOD NEWS
Principals from the elementary schools, middle school and high school gave an extensive presentation on legacy testing at the BOE meeting.
The good news regarding tests came from high school principal Lee Panagoulias. “Our scores are up,” he said, displaying a chart showing the percentages of students scoring at or above goal from 2010 through 2013.
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The most noticeable improvement was that the percentage of students scoring at or above goal in math went from 46.9 percent in 2012; to 63.2 percent in 2013. Science increased about 11 percentage points; reading, 7 percentage points; and writing, about 10 percentage points. See chart for specific scores.
“Congratulations on your scores,” Squires said as the board applauded.
NEW TESTS — - NEW PROBLEMS
The discussion about test scores also included information about the statewide instructional changes. Connecticut is in the process of initiating a new instructional program, Common Core State Standards, which has been adopted by most states. A new testing program, Smarter Balanced Assessment, is aligned with Common Core.
At the meeting, Hernandez announced that during this school year, the district will not be using all of the legacy tests, as the Connecticut Master Tests (CMT) and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests (CAPT) tests are being now being called. CMT tests are given in grades three through eight; and the CAPT tests are administered to 10th grade students.
The CMT and the CAPT tests were used to measure progress under the No Child Left Behind program instituted by former president George W. Bush in 2001. States have recently been granted waivers from the program, provided another testing system is used.
“We are part of the field test,” for the Smarter Balanced Assessment, Hernandez said. Last year, the district was part of the pilot program for the new tests, which are taken on computers instead of paper as the legacy tests were.
Hernandez said students will take the new tests in English/literacy and math, but the legacy tests will be used for science, since there is currently no Smarter Balanced test in that subject.
He said the Smarter Balanced Assessment “is much more rigorous,” particularly because the tests must be taken on computers. “It is significantly different than what the students have been doing,” he said.
Hernandez said that although school districts statewide are currently slated to switch to Smarter Balanced tests in the 2014 – 15 school year, he anticipates it may be delayed a year.
In regard to the legacy testing, Hernandez said “The data in isolation can be very overwhelming and can lead different people to different conclusions.” He said the district looks at the data in terms of curriculum, programs, professional development and instructional practices.
Robin Goeler, principal at Walsh Intermediate School, said the new Common Core Standards will result in more interaction in the classrooms. “That traditional teacher-in-front of the room and students listening passively — those days are gone,” he told the board, adding that there will be more emphasis on applying knowledge, not memorization.
Dr. Susan Iwanicki-Smith, principal at Sliney Elementary School, said one of the changes is the emphasis in reading non-fiction books rather than fiction. And she said the tests will attempt to measure the students’ depth of understanding. “This is a very different type of test than children have seen in the past,” she told board members.
Questions also arose about scheduling time to take tests on the computers and about the need to teach keyboarding skills so students can type answers.
Hernandez said the district has to make sure students are skilled in technology and keyboarding skills “so we’re not assessing their ability on a computer.”
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