Canton Public Schools: November 18 School Committee Meeting Recap: Benchmark Assessments, Vaccinations Rates Update And Capital Project ...

Press release from Canton Public Schools:

Taylor O'Neil

November 29, 2021

 Interim Superintendent Derek Folan would like to share with the school community several notable updates and information provided at the November 18 Canton School Committee meeting. 

A recording of the full meeting can be viewed here.

Additional meeting materials, including the Interim Superintendent’s Report and all documents shared at the meeting are available here. 

Students in grades K-5 were assessed this Fall using the Renaissance STAR Benchmark Assessment. Through the Renaissance STAR Benchmark Assessment, the District was able to analyze how students performed against peers nationally and how students performed against the standards expectations in Massachusetts. The assessments were given to students a month early this year yet still showed strong data.

Students in first and second grade were assessed using the STAR Early Literacy assessment. This assessment measures early literacy and early numeracy skills, and provides reliable data about students’ phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, fluency and vocabulary as well as early number recognition and counting. Kindergarteners will be assessed at midyear and end of the year.

The STAR Reading Benchmark Assessment was given to students in grades 3-5 and to some students in first and second grade who performed above the 90th percentile on the Early Literacy Assessment. The STAR Reading results revealed that 76.4% of students in grades 3-5 are performing At/Above benchmark when compared to their peers nationally. Last year, the district’s fall benchmark had 74.5% in the At/Above benchmark category.

The STAR Math Benchmark Assessment was administered to students in grades 1-5. Students performed well on this assessment, with 80.5% of students At/Above the benchmark when compared to grade-level peers nationally. Last year, students were at 78.2% At/Above.

Parent reports with data from the Renaissance STAR Benchmark Assessment were sent home in October.

Benchmark Assessments in Grades 6-12

This fall, students at GMS and CHS were assessed using benchmark assessments in Math and English. This year, the District is using the Common Lit pre-assessment and post-assessments for ELA and the IXL diagnostic assessment for Math. Both assessments are nationally normed and the District is able to analyze how students performed against peers nationally and how students performed against the standards expectations in Massachusetts.

It is important to note that the District is assessing students against grade-level standards and often on concepts that have not yet been taught. The data gathered from the assessments help teachers to identify and address learning needs. Information has been sent to parents/guardians in the CHS Principal Newsletter and in a letter to GMS parents.

To view additional details about the assessments, click here.

Vaccination Rates Update

The District shared a report on the COVID-19 student and staff vaccination rate as of November 18. The following information was retrieved from the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS).

The breakdown by grade level of those fully vaccinated:

• Grade 12: 73% students vaccinated 
• Grade 11: 67% students vaccinated
• Grade 10: 69% students vaccinated 
• Grade 9: 64% students vaccinated
• Grade 8: 66% students vaccinated 
• Grade 7: 67% students vaccinated 
• Grade 6: 12% students vaccinated

At Hansen, 141 students have received their first dose and there is one fully vaccinated student. At the Luce, 160 students have received their first dose. At JFK, 155 students have received their first dose and one student is fully vaccinated.

This press release was produced by Canton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.