MIDDLETOWN
STANDARD VOLUME 1 / NO. 4 December 2002
BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
English Language Arts & Mathematics Testing
Category Explanations:
High Performing—50% or more of the students achieved standards (achievement levels 4 and 5—Achieved with Honors and Achieved the Standard) in all assessments (New Standards Mathematics and English Language Arts Assessments and RI Writing) using 3 years of test data (2000, 2001, 2002)
Moderately Performing—Schools that do not fall into the category of High Performing or Low Performing
Low Performing—33% percent or more of the students did not achieve standards (achievement levels 1 and 2—Below Standard and Little Evidence of Achievement-- plus “No Score”) in all assessments
Progress Explanations (using the rolling averages* for 98-00 assessments and 01-02 assessments):
Improving—The percentage of students meeting or exceeding standard in 2 out of 3 subtests in mathematics or 3 out of 4 subtests in English Language Arts increased by 3% or more and the percentage of students in the two lowest achievement levels decreased 3% or more.
Not Improving—The percentage of students meeting and exceeding standard and not achieving standard (and No Scores) in each subtest did not meet the target of 3% for 2 out of 3 subtests in mathematics and 3 out of 4 subtests in English Language Arts.
*Rolling Averages: Because year-to-year comparisons are unstable, a combination of a 3-year cumulative percentage (1998-2000 scores) is compared to a 2-year cumulative percentage (2001-2002 scores.)
AQUIDNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Category: High Performing
Progress: Not Improving
The percentage of students achieving standards increased 3% or more in 1 of the 4 English Language Arts subtests (Writing Effectiveness). Because subtest scores are below 5% in the two lowest categories, they are not subject to the 3% target. However, in order to be categorized as improving in English Language Arts, students must meet both 3% targets in 3 of the 4 subtests.
The percentage of students achieving standards in 2 of the 3 subtests (Math Skills and Concepts) increased by 3% or more. Subtest scores decrease by 3% in one of the lowest categories. In order to be categorized as improving in mathematics, scores must meet both the 3% targets in 2 of the 3 subtests.
FOREST AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Category: High Performing
Progress: Improving in English Language Arts & Mathematics
The percentage of students achieving standards increased 3% or more in 3 of the 4 English Language Arts subtests (Analysis and Interpretation, Writing Effectiveness, and Writing Conventions). Subtest scores also decreased by 3% in the lowest categories. Because scores met both 3% targets in 3 of the 4 subtests, the school is categorized as improving in English Language Arts.
The school is categorized as improving in mathematics because the percentage of students achieving standards in all 3 subtests (Math Skills, Concepts and Problem Solving) increased by 3% or more and the percentage of students in the lowest achievement categories also decreased by 3% or more.
JOHN F. KENNEDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Category: Moderately Performing
Progress: Improving in Mathematics
The percentage of students achieving standards increased 3% or more in all 4 subtests (Basic Understanding, Analysis and Interpretation, Writing Effectiveness and Writing Conventions). The percentage in the two lowest categories did not also decrease by 3% in 3 of the 4 subtests. In order to be categorized as improving, students must meet both targets in 3 of the 4 subtests.
The percentage of students achieving standards in 2 of the 3 subtests (Math Skills and Concepts) increased by 3% or more. The percentage of students not achieving standards in 2 of the 3 Mathematics subtests also decreased 3% or more, so the school is rated as Improving in Mathematics.
GAUDET MIDDLE SCHOOL
Category: Moderately Performing
Progress: Not Improving
The percentage of students achieving standards increased 3% or more in 2 of the 4 English Language Arts subtests (Writing Effectiveness, and Writing Conventions). Subtest scores decreased by 3% in only one of the lowest categories. In order to be categorized as improving in English Language Arts, scores must meet both 3% targets in 3 of the 4 subtests.
The percentage of students achieving standards increased by 3% or more in one subtest. The percentage of students in the lowest achievement categories did not decrease by 3% or more. In order to be categorized as improving in mathematics, scores must meet both 3% targets in 2 of the 3 subtests.
MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Category: Moderately Performing
Progress: Improving in Mathematics
The percentage of students achieving standards increased 3% or more in 3 of the 4 English Language Arts subtests (Basic Understanding, Analysis and Interpretation and Writing Effectiveness). Subtest scores decreased by 3% in only one of the lowest categories. In order to be categorized as improving in English Language Arts, scores must meet both 3% targets in 3 of the 4 subtests.
The school is categorized as improving in mathematics because the percentage of students achieving standards in 2 of the 3 subtests (Math Concepts and Problem Solving) increased by 3% or more and the percentage of students in the lowest achievement categories also decreased by 3% or more.