Schools
CAPT Scores Higher, Results Mixed on CMT in District 13
Results from last spring's standardized exams were released Tuesday. Here's how students from Durham and Middlefield performed:
Test scores among tenth grade students at Coginchaug High School jumped significantly this year, according to test results released Tuesday.
Durham and Middlefield students taking the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) improved in all four areas of the test: Math, Science, Reading and Writing. Conversely, student test scores in grades 3-6 mostly declined while seventh and eighth grade students taking the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scored higher this spring.
The latest test scores come as the school district moves closer to full implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The national assessments will be required during the 2014-2015 school year.
Both the CMT and the CAPT have five student performance levels for each content area tested: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Goal, and Advanced.
The percentage of tenth graders in District 13 reaching Goal in Math, Science and Reading increased by double-digits. In Science, for example, 72.5 percent of students tested at Goal level compared to just 59.3 percent a year ago.
Tenth graders' Reading scores improved from 48.9 percent at Goal last year to 60.1 percent this spring. Math scores improved from 57.4 percent in 2012 to 69.2 percent in 2013. Writing scores also increased, from 71.1 percent to 75 percent.
The number of tenth grade students testing at a proficient level increased across the board as well, from 89.9 percent to 97.2 percent in Math; 92.6 percent to 98 percent in Science; 87 percent to 94.4 percent in Reading; and 91.9 percent to 95.9 percent in Writing.
Students at Strong Middle School showed similar progress on the CMT, with improvement in Math, Reading and Writing. Only eighth grade Reading scores dropped, from 87.7 percent at Goal to 86.3 percent.
CMT scores in grades 3-6 show progress in some areas and a decline in others.
Third graders, for example, improved their Reading (60.5 percent at Goal to 66.7 percent) and Writing (66.9 percent to 75 percent) scores, while Math scores dropped (from 75.8 percent to 71.3 percent).
Test scores were down in all three areas in grades 4-6, although students tested higher than their state counterparts in each subject except sixth grade math.
Click here for CAPT results
Click here for CMT results
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