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Students score above state averages on PARCC exam

Date: 11/19/2015

EAST LONGMEADOW – Students scored consistently above state averages on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam given to grades 3-8 last spring.

Superintendent of Schools Gordon Smith told Reminder Publications students reached a composite performance index (CPI) score of 93.8 points for English language arts (ELA) compared to the state average of 85.5 CPI points. In math, the district scored 86.9 CPI points compared to a state average of 79.8.

He noted that the CPI is generated using current PARCC results and prior Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test scores.

“In looking at the [CPI], from a district standpoint we’ve significantly outperformed the state, which was really exciting to see,” he added.

“I think it speaks to the incredible work that our teachers and administrators and all our staff really have been doing the few years to identify where our students continue to have challenges, to make sure that our curriculum is well aligned to state standards and making sure that we focus our instruction to allow students to not only access the state standards, but master the skills to allow them to master the state standards,” he continued.

Smith said during the past several years the district has been working to improve student math and ELA skills in order to align to state standards.

“Our thought process is that what we want to make sure what we’re doing in our classrooms on a daily basis is allowing students to master those standards,” he noted.

One method the district has utilized is the creation of common assessments in content areas and grade levels, which are given to students three times a year, Smith said.

“It gives you a faster idea how students are doing on state standards,” he added.

Smith said the district saw CPI increases as individual grade levels in math and ELA, including a 10-point CPI increase in grade 3 math. Others included more than 2.5 CPI point increases or more in grades 4, 7, 8 in math and grades 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in ELA.

The PARCC results also included a percentage of students ranked in levels one to five with one representing “did not meet expectations” and level five scores amounting to “met or exceeding expectations.”

The district received lower than state averages in levels one and two – 5 percent of students in grades 3-8 taking the ELA PARCC exam received level two status while the state average was 12 percent.

Smith said there were challenges utilizing the computer PARCC?assessment compared to the paper and pencil test.

“When we piloted the online version with a small number of classes in the spring of 2014, we found that there were many challenges around ensuring that all components of the online version worked for all students,” he added. “We felt that until all of the challenges were worked out, we would be better off using the paper and pencil version along with any regular hand-held tools provided.”

Smith said he believes the district needs to continue focusing on how students are doing in math.

“Across the district, the achievement in math over the years has been a little behind [with] our achievement in ELA and so we’re making some great gains,” he added.

Smith said he believes academic success begins with students learning how to read.

“You really cannot be successful in any content area if you are not a skilled reader,” he noted. “We don’t want to ever lose sight of the fact that we’ve achieved well over the years on the ELA assessments, however we want to continue to make sure that our students are very well equipped and continue to achieve well on the ELA assessments.”

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Mitchell Chester recently released a memorandum to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education with a recommendation that the board begin work on developing a next-generation computer-based assessment that builds on elements from PARCC and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test.

Smith said whether the state chooses to adopt PARCC or moves forward with a next-generation test, he believes the district would be able to continue achieving high scores.

School Committees from neighboring communities such as Longmeadow Public Schools and the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District chose to take MCAS rather than PARCC during the spring 2015 exam period.