Shelton CMT Scores Improve For Grades 6 and 8 Only

Shelton's sixth and eighth graders performed better across the board on the Connecticut Mastery Test this year than they did in 2010, according to data released Wednesday by state education officials.

The results were not as positive for all other grades, however. In general, students in grades 3, 4 and 7 saw a dip in scores. Some were minimal, while other dips were quite significant with the percentage of students scoring at or above goal and proficiency changed by more than four points from 2010.

Fifth graders turned in arguably the most surprising results, with an equal mix of highs and lows, although the lows were more severe percentage-wise.

The CMT, taken each year by more than 240,000 public school students in grades 3 through 8, consists of seven hours of testing in math, reading, writing, and — at some levels — science.

Students are graded on a scale of 1 ("below basic") to 5 ("advanced") on each section. Though the test is not pass/fail, Connecticut sets a goal range and a proficiency level for each grade and subject.

Despite the citywide lower scores, the good news is that Shelton continued to turn in strong results this year compared to the state as a whole. Each grade out-performed the state in all subject categories.

Individual data for each of Shelton's five elementary schools and two middle schools were not immediately available.

Among the notable CMT trends in Shelton:

• The number of sixth graders scoring at or above goal in math jumped 10.5 points to 86.2 percent, up from 75.7 percent in 2010.
• Seventh grade writing results went from one extreme to the other: The number of seventh graders scoring at or above goal in writing fell an astonishing 25.7 points to 63.8 percent, down from 89.5 percent in 2010. However, the number of seventh graders scoring at or above proficiency raised a significant 10.8 points to 85.6 percent, up from 74.8 in 2010.
• The number of eighth graders scoring at or above goal in writing jumped 12.7 points to 78.8 percent, up from 66.1 percent in 2010.
• Out of the 21 schools within its Education Reference Group, Shelton placed third highest percentage of eighth graders scoring at proficiency in writing (92.1).

The full district and statewide results can be found below. Numbers reflect the percentage of students scoring at or above goal or proficiency; figures in parentheses represent year-over-year changes.

3RD GRADE

65.6 (-2.4)

4TH GRADE

5TH GRADE

 91.3
(+0.4)

6TH GRADE

7TH GRADE

8TH GRADE