Statewide Test Scores Are in For Branford Students

BRANFORD, CT - The trend line is going in the wrong direction as far as student test scores in Branford.

Nearly three-quarters of the state’s school districts improved their performance on the state’s latest annual assessment, showing higher scores in 143 of 202 districts during 2017-18, according to the state Department of Education.

Among schools that were scored in both 2016-17 and 2017-18, 779 saw increases, while 456 declined.

But in Branford, the trend is going in the opposite direction.

The overall score in the district was showed 74.6 percent passing the statewide test; that mark was down a percentage from a year ago and two percentage points from two years ago.

For each Branford school, the passing test rate was 60.4 at Walsh - down from last year; 79.8 at Sliney, up from last year; 86.3 at Tisko, up from last year, 79.8 at Murphy, down from last year, and 79 at the high school, down from last year.

In its fourth year, the state-administered Next Generation Accountability System takes a holistic approach in its assessment of schools and districts, relying on data from a dozen indicators including test scores, academic growth, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, college readiness, and arts access.

The state assigns different weights to those factors then calculates a single “accountability index” number for each school and district.