1. 1 Watertown Public Schools Assessment Reports 2010 Ann Koufman-Frederick and Administrative Council School Committee Meetings Oct, Nov, Dec, 2010 Part I – October 18, 2010 MCAS, AYP Part II – November AMOA, SAT, AP Part III – December MAP

2. 2 Introduction Purposes of Educational Assessment Part I MCAS % Proficient or higher: Watertown compared to State, Spring 2010 MCAS Changes in Performance, 1998 - 2010 MCAS Student Growth Percentile, Spring 2010 Adequate Yearly Progress, Spring 2010 What have we learned? Part II AMOA, Spring 2010 SAT, Spring 2010 AP, Spring 2010 Part III MAP, Measures of Academic Progress, Ongoing TABLE OF CONTENTS

3. 3 Educational Assessment Diagnostic –used to identify a student’s academic, cognitive, or behavioral strengths and weaknesses –used to identify teacher performance Instructional –used to modify and adapt instruction to meet students’ needs –progress monitoring Predictive –used to determine the likelihood that a student or a school will meet a predetermined goal Evaluative –used to determine the outcome of a particular curriculum –often compared a predetermined goal or objective

4. 4 MCAS Purposes Evaluative Measure individual student performance and make sure that every child has adequate knowledge and skills by the time they graduate from high school –Measures performance based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework learning standards –Tests all public school students in Massachusetts, including students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency –Reports on the performance of individual students, schools, and districts Accountability Assess and publically release school and district performance ratings, holding school systems accountable for student achievement –Used to hold schools and districts accountable, on a yearly basis, for the progress they have made toward the objective of the No Child Left Behind Law that all students be proficient in Reading, Mathematics, and Science by 2014 (State assessment used to determine AYP) –Students must pass the grade 10 tests in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics and Science as one condition of eligibility for a high school diploma (in addition to fulfilling local requirements)

5. 5 MCAS % Proficient and higher Watertown compared to State Spring 2010 Scores are from 200-280 Advanced 260-280 Proficient 240-258 Needs Improvement 220-238 Warning 220-218

6. 6 Grades 3 to 5 % Proficient and higher

7. 7 Grades 6 to 10 % Proficient and higher

8. All Grades ELA (including outplacements)

9. All Grades Math (including outplacements)

10. Grade 10 English Language Arts Mathematics

11. High School Science Introductory Physics Biology

12. 12 MCAS Changes in Performance 1998-2010

13. 13 1998 to 2010 % of Students scoring Proficient and higher 1998200520092010 Change, 2009 to 2010 1998 to 2010 Watertown High School English Language Arts35728588353 Mathematics23738083360 Statewide - Grade 10 English Language Arts38658178-340 Mathematics246275 051

14. 14 Grade 10 Math and English % of Students Scoring Proficient and higher

15. 15 Grade 10 Math % of Students Scoring Proficient and higher

16. 16 Grade 10 English % of Students Scoring Proficient and higher

17. 17 MCAS Student Growth Percentile 2010

18. 18 Why a new statistic? The MCAS is a criterion based test. SGP is an attempt to establish a basis of comparison from year to year. The SGP can provide a way to indicate that low achieving students are “making progress”. Race to the Top participation requires a metric to show student growth. SGP available for an individual student; Median SGP for schools and districts.

19. 19 Student Growth Percentile

20. 20 WPS SGP Math

21. 21 WPS SGP ELA

22. 22 AYP Adequate Yearly Progress Spring 2010

23. 23 WPS AYP 2010 Accountability Status The District has “no status” because we have met Adequate Yearly Progress targets as an aggregate. Unlike districts who have status, we have no required district-wide actions to take. Performance Rating High in ELA High in Math. Improvement Rating On Target in ELA Improved Below Target in Math

24. 24 AYP District History

25. 25 AYP by Grade Spans

26. 26 Grade 10 Math and English % of Students Scoring Proficient and higher

27. 27 MCAS: What have we learned? Watertown Public Schools continues to make progress on MCAS. Over the past 5 years, progress is steady at the Elementary and Middle Schools, and in particular by 10 th grade we are overtaking the State averages. We continue to use MCAS student and school results to help plan improvements and make adjustments in curricular and instructional programming. Examples: Early reading curriculum to be scaled to intermediate grades Writing curriculum developed in Elementary grades Fine-tune our instruction with the Think Math curriculum ELL curriculum more focused work on math Impact Math curriculum implementation is being fine-tuned Middle grades English and science are identifying gaps in curriculum alignment and instruction Expectation is to be much more above the State average MAP implementation is being scaled up through Middle School

28. 28 Questions about MCAS? http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/wps/assessment.html