State test scores for 2013 are out and, overall, Ridgefield’s scores are down a bit.
The state this week released results for both the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), taken by high school sophomores across the state, and for the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) given from third through eighth grades.
Superintendent Deborah Low put the results in the perspective of the school system’s efforts to refocus curriculum to tackle the “common core” standards being adopted by states across the country.
For both the CAPT and the CMT, the school system’s results are expressed in the percentage of students meeting the state goal and also the slightly lower standard of proficiency.
“The percentage of students reaching mastery (level 4/goal) continues to be higher than the state scores,” Ms. Low said. “But the percentage of students reaching mastery compared to last year in Ridgefield dipped in just about all grades and subjects.
“The average decline in CMT scores was 1.6 percentage points and 0.6 percentage points on CAPT. Most differences are fairly small, so overall the scores are holding steady.
“This is a period of transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and a new state assessment (SBAC) in 2014 or 2015 at the latest.
“Our curriculum revisions, teacher training, and selection of new texts in the past two to three years have been based on these standards, which are different from the ones measured on the current CMT,” Ms. Low said.
She also said that a “more detailed analysis,” including a look at individual schools’ results, will come as part of the district testing report presented to the Board of Education sometime in the fall.
The CAPT, or Connecticut Academic Performance Tests, are used to highlight areas in which students need more work. Students who don’t do well enough in a subject as sophomores are required to demonstrate improvement before they can graduate.
Here’s a look at Ridgefield High School sophomores’ CAPT scores going back five years. It shows for each year first the percentage of students meeting or surpassing the state’s goal in the subject area, followed by the larger percentage of students who achieved the less demanding standards of showing proficiency in the subject.
Math — 2013: goal 84.7%, proficient 96.5%. 2012: goal 83.7%, proficient 98.2%. 2011: 88%, 98.8%. 2010: 81.9%, 98.4%. 2009: 77.5%, 94.3%. 2008: 88%, 97.9%.
Reading — 2013: goal 81.6%, proficient 97.2%. 2012: 81%, 96.9%. 2011: 81%, 98.6%. 2010: 82.5%, 97%. 2009: 79.5%, 96.8%. 2008: 83.9%, 98.4%.
Science — 2013: goal 79.4%, proficient 97.2%. 2012: 80%, 99.1%. 2011: 77.5%, 97.1%. 2010: 76.4%, 97.3%. 2009: 72.7%, 95.2%. 2008: 80.1%, 99.1%.
Writing — 2013: goal 90.4%, proficient 98.4%; 2012: 93.9%, 98.9%. 2011: 91.2%, 98.8%. 2010: 92.3%, 98.4%. 2009: 89%, 99.1%. 2008: 92.6%, 99.8%.
The CMTs are given to most elementary and middle school students in math, reading and writing every year from third grade to eighth grade. In fifth and eighth grades, students are also tested in science.
Here’s how Ridgefield students’ CMT scores look going back five years, from 2013 to 2008, by subject and grade. Again, the numbers listed are percentage of student meeting state goal, followed by the percentage scoring as proficient in the subject area.
Math, third grade — 2013: goal 89.4%, proficient 97.1%. 2012: 92.5%, 96.3%. 2011: 87%, 97.6%. 2010: 81.7%, 95.7%. 2009: 84.5%, 95.2%. 2008: 81.0%, 94.5%.
Math, fourth grade — 2013: goal 91.1%, proficient 97.4%. 2012: 93.6%, 99.7%. 2011: 89.8%, 98.4%. 2010: 93.9%, 99.3%. 2009: 90.7%, 99%. 2008: 88.7%. 95.9%.
Math, fifth grade — 2013: goal 92.5%, proficient 98.7%. 2012: 94.8%, 98.4%. 2011: 93.8%, 98.8%. 2010: 93.8%, 98.6%. 2009: 92.6%, 98.1%. 2008: 88.3%, 95.1%.
Math, sixth grade — 2013: goal 90.8%, proficient, 97.5%. 2012: 92.2%, 97.1%. 2011, 92.4%, 99.3%. 2010: 90.8%, 97.7%. 2009: 91.2%, 96.7%. 2008: 92.3%, 98.2%.
Math, seventh grade — 2013: goal 98.5%, proficient 96.7%. 2012: 90.1%, 99.1%. 2011: 90.7%, 97.5%. 2010: 90.5%, 97.7%. 2009: 89.8%, 97.4%. 2008: 89.3%, 97.6%.
Math, eighth grade — 2013: goal 89.5%, proficient 97.9%. 2012: 93%, 98.1%. 2011: 91.6%, 98.4%. 2010: 93.5%, 98.5%. 2009: 90.4%, 97.2%. 2008: 89.3%, 97.8%.
Reading, third grade — 2013: goal, 81.2%, proficient 91.8%. 2012: 79.9%, 90.7%. 2011: 79.5%, 90.5%. 2010 79.9%, 88.9%. 2009: 76.7%, 90.3%. 2008: 70.4%, 88.4%.
Reading, fourth grade: 2013: goal 84.1%, proficient 92%. 2012: 88.8%, 96%. 2011: 82.2%, 88.5%. 2010, 82.6%, 91.4%. 2009: 82.5%, 93.2%. 2008: 83.9%, 93%.
Reading, fifth grade — 2013: goal 90.9%, proficient 95.6%. 2012: 91.2%, 95.6%. 2011: 85.3%, 93.5%. 2010, 85.9%, 95.6%. 2009: 90.5%, 95.4%. 2008: 86.9%, 91.8%.
Reading, sixth grade — 2013: goal 88.4%, proficient 94.5%. 2012: 91%, 95%. 2011: 90.2%, 96.9%. 2010: 89.9%, 96.1%. 2009: 85.1%, 94.4%. 2008: 91.2%, 96.9%.
Reading, seventh grade — 2013: goal 95.9%, proficient, 97.6.%. 2012: 94.9%, 98.6%. 2011: 95%, 97.3%. 2010: 91.8%, 95.5%. 2009: 94.1%, 97%. 2008: 90.1%, 94.9%.
Reading, eighth grade — 2013: goal 91.4%, proficient 95.8%. 2012: 95.8%, 98.4%. 2011: 92.5%, 96.3%. 2010: 94.1%, 97%. 2009: 91.4%, 95.3%. 2008: 87.4%, 95.5%.
Writing, third grade — 2013: goal 80.8%, proficient 94.2%. 2012: 83%, 94%. 2011: 78.3%, 92%. 2010: 74.7%, 90.3%. 2009: 81.4%. 94.2%. 2008: 80.6%, 95.3%.
Writing, fourth grade — 2013: goal 86.8%, proficient 95.2%. 2012: 86.3%, 96.8%. 2011: 84.7%, 94.8%. 2010: 83.8%, 97.4%. 2009: 83.9%, 97.9%. 2008: 88%, 96.6%.
Writing, fifth grade — 2013: goal 89.3%, proficient 98%. 2012: 89.3%, 98.2%. 2011: 86%, 97.4%. 2010: 90.8%, 97.4%. 2009: 86.1%, 96.9%. 2008: 87.6%, 97.2%.
Writing, sixth grade — 2013: goal 88.3%, proficient 95.5%. 2012: 90%, 96.4%. 2011: 90.2%, 97.7%. 2010: 89.7%, 97.3%. 2009: 80.6%, 93,8%. 2008: 83.4%, 95.6%.
Writing, seventh grade — 2013: goal 89.6%, proficient 97.2%. 2012: 89.5%, 97.7%. 2011: 86.8%, 96.8%. 2010: 83%, 92.6%. 2009: 89.2%, 96.3%. 2008: 86.7%, 95.9%.
Writing, eighth grade — 2013: goal 90.7%, proficient 97.7%. 2012: 93.7%, 98.4%. 2011, 87.2%, 94.7%. 2010 89.6%, 95.5%. 2009: 90.5%, 97%. 2008: 89.6%, 97.7%.
Science, fifth grade: 2013 goal 90.6%, proficient 96.9%. 2012: 90.8%, 98%. 2011: 88.4%, 96.7%. 2010: 87.2%, 97.6%. 2009: 82.5%, 95.5%. 2008: 83.4%, 94.9%.
Science, eighth grade: 2013: goal 82.3%, proficient 92.1%. 2012: 85.2%, 94%. 2011: 85.1%, 91.3%. 2010: 89%, 96.1%. 2009: 88%, 94.2%. 2008: 83.7%, 95.3%.