NECAP Scores: 'I Was Taken Aback'
New England Common Assessment Program scores leave Barrington School Committee feeling less than satisfied with student performance.
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The atmosphere was somber as the Barrington School Committee reviewed the most recent New England Common Assessment Program scores for students Thursday night.
Overall, the scores still have the district sitting at the top in Rhode Island. But there are “pockets” of results that did not satisfy the School Committee.
Chairman Patrick Guida, always the most outspoken member of the School Committee, said bluntly: “I was taken aback by the scores.”
For instance, Guida said, approximately 30 percent of the high school juniors still are not proficient in math even though their score of 69 percent leads the state.
“I am concerned about the other 30 percent,” Guida said several times in reacting to the scores.
Three of the four elementary schools saw scores go down in math, although the scores still ranged from 77 to 89 percent proficient. And two of the four elementary schools saw scores in reading dip, although the scores ranged from 87 to 95.
The lowest math score was at Primrose Hill, where third-graders dropped 13 points to 77. Primrose Hill’s reading score also dropped 4 percent, Guida said, to 93 percent.
Hampden Meadows students had the biggest drop-off in reading, 6 points to 87 percent, considered a “significant” dip by the RI Department of Education, which released the results a week ago.
“We need to make inquiries and do some analysis,” he told Mike Messore, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “We need to pay some attention to them.”
High school reading scores also dropped 2 points to 93 percent.
The middle school is the star of the district. Both reading and math scores went up, with more than 90 percent of the students proficient, making the school second in the state. The writing score also was in the top three at 84 percent.
“They should be commended for their performance,” Guida said.
The scores for all students actually are quite commendable, with 5 of the 6 schools having at least 3 out of 4 students – 75 percent or higher -- proficient in reading and math.
But being satisfied was not a word the School Committee tossed around Thursday night. Just the opposite, in fact.
None of the members cracked a smile after Guida started the discussion on the NECAP results. The atmosphere was quite somber.
Manifold Witness
1:00 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Will the teachers comment on these results?
Can they offer some insight?
Manifold Witness
1:57 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Sometimes comments from the teachers can be very revealing of what’s actually going on.
After all – and we’ve learned this from past experience – the teachers are the ones who are right “out front” here on what’s happening now.
Do not underestimate the abilities of some teachers to process data exceptionally quickly & reveal the real reasons for results that might seem mysterious to others.
Teachers do this stuff professionally, day-in and day-out, so it’s second nature to them and it would be most practical to sit down with them now and ask them what’s going on here.
We should not underestimate the teachers’ role in this important analytical discovery process.
And, as importantly, in helping to discern whether this is a trend that needs to be directly and immediately addressed, or more of a one-time fluke that will soon subside naturally.
thomas john
5:08 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
I hate to state the obvious but no one else will because it is politically incorrect, could the addition of low income housing to primrose effect the scores
Gina
8:36 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
It's a comment like that which gives the town its snooty name of "Borrington"...really...you basicly just said that if your not rich your not smart....wow.
Rebecca Stockhecker
1:50 am on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Having grown up in a family that was low income due to parent illness, I really wish people would stop judging. My parents valued education and insisted that I did my school work. I do not live in the low income housing, but I resent the fact that everyone in this town wants to pre-judge these families as not caring about their childrens' education. Perhaps, the reason they desire to live here is to give their children a good education. Instead of judging, how about counting yourself blessed that you have been allowed to afford a home in town.
Manifold Witness
8:32 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Maybe the schools would give people information about how to sign up to be volunteer mentors, tutors, grandparents, reading & math coaches, etc. if it turns out that some help would help? Maybe guided senior projects, etc.?
C. Anderson
9:00 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
Good comment. This is why home schooling and other alternative educational formats work so well. Education should not be left solely to a compartmentalized bureaucratized teaching profession dependent on taxpayer support. When more every day people are invited and can take ownership in the process, not only can students do better, but they feel like they are part of a community. Barrington once had that kind of feel. This kind of idea can help restore that. (It would also help deal with aberrant social issues like teen drinking.)
Jill I
12:19 am on Sunday, February 19, 2012
I am considered low income and my kids are both in the 90th percentile. Please don't assume that us poor folks are stupid! Being low income does not mean your kids are incapable of being good students. What an ignorant statement!!
P. Dulchinos
12:28 pm on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Like it or not there have been numerous research studies that show a direct correlation between socio-economic standing and standardize test scores. If we really want to determine the effect affordable housing in Barrington is having on our school system, we can easily analyze the data from the NECAP test results and determine if there is a statistically significant relationship between test scores, family income and home addresses.