The Bucks County Montessori Charter School PSSA Results, Local District Comparisons, and Year to Year Progressions

Challenges to the Montessori Student in the traditional testing environment:  Allotted Montessori kinesthetic materials allowed to be utilized vs.  Pencil and paper as primary source, calculators and rulers only tools allowed  Pencil and paper as primary source, calculators and rulers only tools allowed  Tests set at child’s academic level vs.  Everyone testing on the same thing  Students free to select testing subject and order vs.  Mandated selections of assessments  No limitation on the time testing sections are to be completed vs.  Selected sections needing to be completed in order fashion

Just as the BCMCS Mission Statement states: …the philosophy of [BCMCS] is to offer a Montessori based environment that will facilitate intellectual, emotion and social growth…(with the) goal to enable its students to become young adults possessing strong, independent and analytical thinking skills, and an enduring love and passion for learning and the learning process.

So, what is the PSSA’s role? What is the PSSA test? The PSSA test is a series of standardized tests given to all public school students. Currently, students are tested on Reading, Math, Writing and Science. What is the purpose of the PSSA? The PSSA is a test on the core standards state and federal officials feel students should know. The No Child Left Behind Law expects that all students must be 100% proficient on the test by What are the ramifications to the PSSA? A school’s existence, comparable performance measures, and graduation to list a few.

Therefore, please remember that… “Learning must never focus on the end result, as true understanding would not be able to flourish…(for) if the process is fully developed, the desired outcome will naturally take care of itself.” ~M. Montessori

MATH BCMCS Results – Overview of ALL Grade Levels AYP met at all grade levels, with current NCLB target at 56% 96.6% of students scoring Proficient or Advanced in 6 th grade; 0% Below Basic in 3 rd & 6 th

READING BCMCS Results —Overview of All Grade Levels AYP met at all Grade levels, with NCLB target set at 63% 95.4% of 6 th year students testing Proficient or Advanced No 3 rd, 4 th,or 6th year students testing Below Basic

BCMCS Science and Technology Results: 4 th Grade *No Below Basic scores *93.8 Advanced and Proficient

PSSA BCMCS Writing Results: 5 th Grade PSSA BCMCS Writing Results: 5 th Grade *No Below Basic score *Very low levels of Advanced scores in local and state aggregates

3rd Year Math: PSSA Math Comparisons to Local District Scores are 32.5 percentage points above NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: Further refinement of the implementation of the Montessori math curriculum across the Lower Elementary focusing on hands on didactic materials leads to deeper understanding of the core mathematical principals. This process takes time but pays great dividends in the later years and contributes to the goal of creating life long learners.

3rd Year Reading: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Scores are 29.3 Percentage points above NCLB baseline benchmark. Curricular Notes: : Further refinement of the implementation and integration of the Montessori language arts, Making Meaning and Great books programs, along with integrated writing skills creates deeper understanding of texts. As a byproduct, this allows the students to tackle test taking situations with confidence. 1 st of 4 Top Ranking out of 10 District Comparisons

4 th Year Math: PSSA Comparison to Local District Scores are 12.8 Percentage Points Above NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: Due to attrition and other factors this population has an unusually high proportion of children with learning challenges and/or IEP’s. Continued integration of the Montessori mathematics curriculum and programs developed with the Special Ed. department should continue to help these children flourish.

4th Year Reading: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Scores are 18 Percentage Points Above NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: Due to attrition and other factors this population has an unusually high proportion of children with learning challenges and/or IEP’s. Despite this, the implementation and integration of the Montessori language arts, Making Meaning and Great books programs, along with integrated writing skills creates deeper understanding of texts. As a byproduct, this allows the students to tackle test taking situations with confidence.

5th Year Math: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Scores are 11.6 Percentage Points Above NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: Due to attrition and other factors this population has a high proportion of children with learning challenges and/or IEP’s. Continued integration of the Montessori mathematics curriculum and programs developed with the Special Ed. department should continue to help these children flourish.

Scores are 7.6 Percentage Points Above the NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: Due to attrition and other factors this population has a high proportion of children with learning challenges and/or IEP’s. Despite this, the implementation and integration of the Montessori language arts, Making Meaning and Great books programs, along with integrated writing skills creates deeper understanding of texts. As a byproduct, this allows the students to tackle test taking situations with confidence. 5th Year Reading: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District

5th Year Writing: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Proficient Scores outrank all local serving districts Curricular Notes: Score is 2 nd highest among local serving districts

6th Year Math: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Scores are 39.5 Percentage Points Above the NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: The integrated Montessori curriculum creates a deeper level of understanding in all subject areas that leads to higher achievement as the children’s skills and world view as life long learners, begins to coalesce in the 6 th year. A byproduct of this is our consistently high scores on the PSSA 6 th grade test. 2 nd of 4 Top Ranking out of 10 District Comparisons

Scores are 32.5 Percentage Points Above the NCLB baseline benchmark Curricular Notes: The integrated Montessori curriculum creates a deeper level of understanding in all subject areas that leads to higher achievement as the children’s skills and world view as life long learners, begins to coalesce in the 6 th year. A byproduct of this is our consistently high scores on the PSSA 6 th grade test. 3 rd of 4 Top Ranking out of 10 District Comparisons 6th Year Reading PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District

4th Year Science and Technology: PSSA Reading Comparison to Local District Curricular Note: 4 th of 4 Top Ranking out of 10 District Comparisons

Reading and Math Year to Year progression

Reading and Math— Year to Year Progression

Math— “True-Apples to Apples” Math: * 77% of our 6th Grade Students Scored Advanced in Math compared to 27% in 3rd Grade. * A 283% increase in students moving into the Advanced range in Math from 3rd to 6th grade. * Of the 17 Students that scored Advanced in 6th Grade Math, 76% attended BCMCS for at least six years and 100% for at least five years.

Math— “True-Apples to Apples” Math: * 77% of our 6th Grade Students Scored Advanced in Math compared to 27% in 3rd Grade. * A 283% increase in students moving into the Advanced range in Math from 3rd to 6th grade. * Of the 17 Students that scored Advanced in 6th Grade Math, 76% attended BCMCS for at least six years and 100% for at least five years.

Reading— “True-Apples to Apples” Reading: * 73% of our 6th Grade Students Scored Advanced in Reading compared to 18% in 3rd Grade. * A 400% increase in students moving into the Advanced range in Reading from 3rd to 6th grade * Of the 16 Students scoring Advanced in 6th Grade Reading, 75% attended BCMCS for at least six years and 100% for at least five years.

Reading— “True-Apples to Apples” Reading: * 73% of our 6th Grade Students Scored Advanced in Reading compared to 18% in 3rd Grade. * A 400% increase in students moving into the Advanced range in Reading from 3rd to 6th grade * Of the 16 Students scoring Advanced in 6th Grade Reading, 75% attended BCMCS for at least six years and 100% for at least five years.

An Interesting Perspective:

 A Youtube clip from the Barbra Walters special: xpX-Kw xpX-Kw xpX-Kw