Members of the Southington Board of Education on Thursday night received an update on the district's Connecticut Mastery Test scores and for the most part, the news was exactly what Southington schools were hoping to deliver.
The district scores exceeded state averages for those who met "proficient" or higher at almost every single level from grade 3 to grade 8, Assistant Superintendent Karen Smith said, and the district has seen improvements in writing, which was a strong focal point over the last several years.
"Writing was a primary goal the last two years. We are particularly happy to see higher than typical classroom scores on editing because it is an area we have focused on tremendously," Smith said. "In the area of reading, we are continuing to see very strong growth."
The district also had very strong math scores, particularly in the grade six through eight level.
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But it wasn't the scores that captured the attention of board members on Thursday.
Instead they focused on the new grading system, which Smith said would allow student achievement and district profiles to focus on an individual's growth from year to year rather than making comparisons.
It's something that Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski said he is really looking forward to in the upcoming years.
"For first time ever, I'm not going to trash how things are being done because with these changes, the state is now doing it right," Goralski said. "Comparing a child to his or herself is how it should be done."
Take a look at the district's latest CMT results:
Southington CMT Math Scores
1.9
8.6
32.2
56.7 Grade 4
0.6 1.9 8.0 40.3 49.1 Grade 5 0.6 2.9 6.9 32.2 57.3 Grade 6 0.9 2.4 9.2 32.6 54.9 Grade 7 1.7 2.1 10.0 39.1 47.2 Grade 8 0.8 3.1 10.6 37.1 48.3
Southington CMT Reading Scores
% Below Basic % Basic % Proficient % At Goal % Advanced Grade 3 7.7
5.2 13.9 42.7 30.6 Grade 4
5.0
5.2 10.9 53.6 25.2 Grade 5 5.2 5.4 9.1 48.6 31.7 Grade 6 2.8
3.3 7.8 58.4 27.7 Grade 7 2.9 3.1 6.0 49.7 38.3 Grade 8 3.0 4.6 7.0 50.2 35.3
Southington CMT Writing Scores
% Below Basic % Basic % Proficient % At Goal % Advanced Grade 3 4.4 4.8 12.2 42.1 36.5 Grade 4
3.2 3.9 9.5 38.4 45.1 Grade 5 1.2 3.1 14.8 46.6 34.4 Grade 6 1.4 6.1 15.2 44.0 33.2 Grade 7 3.4 10.3 15.5 44.1 26.7 Grade 8 2.5 8.1 17.9 52.8 18.
Southington CMT Science Scores
% Below Basic % Basic % Proficient % At Goal % Advanced Grade 5 0.8 5.8 13.0 50.8 29.5 Grade 8 6.0 6.5 13.4 54.9 19.2Make sure to like Southington Patch on Facebook or follow on Twitter for breaking news, daily updates and more!
