Cheshire Continues ‘Record-Setting Achievement’ In State’s DPI Rankings: Officials

CHESHIRE, CT — The Cheshire Public School District has recorded its third straight year of record-high performance in the state’s District Performance Index, according to officials.

The District Performance Index is a “compilation of more than 20 data points measuring everything from a multitude of student achievement results to the percentage of high school students accessing arts courses,” according to a news release. “Particular attention is paid to separating the data for students who qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, and/or are English Language Learners.”

State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker recently released the District Performance Index results for the 2024-2025 school year.

Cheshire has the eighth-best performance among K-12 in this year’s release, according to officials. Cheshire ranked 23rd in 2016.

While this year’s rank ties last year’s rank, officials said the district score was higher, representing the third consecutive year of record-high performance.

“Our record-setting achievement is a testament to the hard work of our students and staff in partnership with our families and the community,” Cheshire Superintendent of Schools Jeff Solan said. “For nearly a decade, Cheshire Public Schools has focused on teaching students to be complex thinkers with strong social-emotional skills. There has been a corresponding climb in performance over that period. Our commitment to developing people rather than transcripts has powerful implications.”

Read more from the news release below:

One of the results that most stands out from Cheshire’s performance, is the tremendous growth made by students the state identified as “high needs” (those who receive free/reduced-price meals, special education services, or are multilingual learners). A focus of the district, Cheshire works to ensure that all students are exposed to instruction in the traditional classroom. Those efforts paid dividends with “high needs” Math, English, and Science all showing significant gains.

What sets the District Performance Index apart from many ranking systems is that every district in Connecticut reports the same data set. The 12 performance indicators that are measured are as follows (* indicates those indices with additional reporting for high needs sub-groups):

1. Academic achievement status measured by state assessments*

2. Academic growth*

3. Assessment participation rate*

4. Chronic absenteeism*

5. Postsecondary preparation – coursework

6. Postsecondary readiness – exams and college credit

7. Graduation – on track in ninth grade

8. Graduation – four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate – all students

9. Graduation – six-year adjusted cohort graduation rate – high needs

10. Postsecondary entrance rate – all students (college enrollment)

11. Physical fitness

12. Arts access