Groton's CAPT Performance Declines Slightly

Student performance among Groton’s 10th graders fell in three of four subject areas on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test this year compared to 2007, according to test results released today.

The results showed 79.7 percent of 10th grade students scored proficient or better in math and reading this year, down from 82.6 percent in math and 83.8 percent in reading four years ago.

In science, student proficiency at the 10th grade level dropped to 79.8 percent this year from 85.8 percent in 2007, the tests showed.

Student proficiency improved in writing among 10th graders, with 88.1 percent scoring at proficiency or better this year, compared to 83.5 percent in 2007.

The state looks at March 2007 test results as its baseline for assessing student performance statewide.

At the state level, results showed performance on the test improved among tenth graders in every subject area, when looking at proficiency compared to 2007.  However, some improvements were slight.

“The overall trend of increasing percentages of Grade 10 students scoring at the proficient and goal levels in mathematics and writing is encouraging, given that Connecticut is also decreasing high school drop out rates and increasing graduation rates,” Acting Education Commissioner George Coleman said in a prepared statement.

“However, the magnitude of the increases and the relatively flat performance in reading and science is disconcerting…” he said.

Test results also showed the state has made some improvements in closing the gap between the achievements of minority and non-minority students and among low-income students, though more must be done.

". . .the state still has substantial work to do to provide a high-quality education for all of its secondary school students, particularly its most at-risk students," Coleman said.

In Groton, results showed a wide gap in performance of minority and non-minority students.

For example, 84.3 percent of white students scored at or above proficiency in math on the test in 2011, compared to 67.3 percent of black or African American students and 65.4 percent of Hispanic or Latino students.