Students score low in math

Teachers union condemns new statewide tests

HARTFORD >> The statewide test scores for the new Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium exam show 55.4 percent of Connecticut’s students are meeting or exceeding the “achievement level” in English, and 39.1 percent are meeting or exceeding the achievement level in math.

State education officials, who refused to release the draft scores to the news media last week, said they expected the scores to be low. They also threatened local superintendents, who were given access to the information, not to give it to anyone until Friday. This week, leading up to the release of the data, state officials said the English scores exceeded expectations and the “Math scores met the state’s expectations.”

However, the math scores — which show fewer than half of students meeting or exceeding the achievement level — also prompted state Education Commissioner Dianne Wentzell to convene a group of educators to identify best practices and intensify support for math teachers.

“Nationally, Connecticut has generally been middle of the pack when it comes to math,” Wentzell said. “These scores met our expectations. However, we have room to grow and more to do.”

Wentzell continued: “Math is clearly an area [where] we have significant room for improvement in Connecticut. Another area in need of continued focus and effort is in regards to our chronic achievement gaps.”

New Haven Superintendent of

Schools Garth Harries said in a statement Friday “The results of this test are sobering, but in the end they are only as good as the actions we take as a school district and a community to improve our schools and prepare kids for success in the real world. We will rise to this challenge. “

“The results provide important baseline data that we can use to create a stronger educational experience for all students in every school, reflecting the high standard of college, career, and life success. Next year at this time, I expect to see growth and more kids on track,” Harries said. “While Smarter Balanced is an incredibly important assessment, it is only one piece of the overall picture of how well our students and our schools are performing. There is also good news to celebrate in New Haven – internal measures showing significant growth in early grade reading, a steadily rising graduation rate, and more students enrolling in college and going on to a second year. And there are students at all of our schools who are meeting these higher standards, and we are proud of both them and their educators.”

Wentzell said their analysis of the SBAC exam results reveal achievement gaps among high-need students when they are compared to their peers. A high-need student is lowincome, an English language learner, or a student with a disability.

Of all the high-need students in Connecticut, only 30.6 percent are meeting or exceeding the achievement standards on the English portion of the test, whereas 74.9 percent of all their non-high need peers are meeting or exceeding the achievement standard. In math, only 16.4 percent of high-needs students statewide are meeting or exceeding the achievement standards, whereas 57 percent of all their non-high need peers are meeting or exceeding the achievement standard.

In 2015, the Smarter Balanced tests for English and math replaced the old Connecticut Mastery Test for third through eighth graders and the Connecticut Academic Progress Test for eleventh graders. The new SBAC test is supposed to align with the new Common Core State Standards. Students are still administered the CMT for science in grades 5 and 8 and the CAPT test for science in grade 11.

In fifth grade, 83 percent of students performed at proficient in science, while 60 percent of students performed at goal. In grade 8, 78 percent of students performed at proficient, while 63 percent of students performed at goal. In grade 11, 78 percent of students performed at proficient while 45 percent of students performed at goal.

“We have a crisis in education in America, and it’s because for too long, expectations were too low,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a press release. “Now, we have a laser-focus on preparing children with the skills they need for college and beyond — the real workforce skills and critical-thinking abilities that students will need for the rest of their lives. That’s why we’re at this important transition point and that’s why we’ve set this new baseline upon which to measure ourselves.”

Connecticut’s teachers have been skeptical of the new test. A survey released by the Connecticut Education Association found 86 percent of teachers reported the SBAC had a negative effect on the social and emotional wellbeing of children in their classroom. The survey also found 43 percent of the 1,666 teachers reported that “significant portions of the test covered content that is not taught at my students’ grade level.” And 85 percent agreed the SBAC was “an obstacle for my students to overcome.”

Connecticut Education Association President Sheila Cohen said she doesn’t believe the SBAC results.

“Teachers do not think the new statewide SBAC results are an accurate reflection of what Connecticut students know and are able to do,” Cohen said in a statement. “All indications are that SBAC is not only unfair and invalid, but is also a failed experiment.”

Cohen said teachers should not spend any time going over the “flawed information provided by the results”.

“Seventeen of the 32 states that originally signed on to SBAC are no longer subjecting students in their states to the assessment. Here in our state, policymakers and legislators must push ahead in finding a replacement for SBAC,” Cohen said in the statement.

“Our state’s collective energies will be much better spent identifying testing alternatives and maximizing the great opportunity ensured by the new state Mastery Examination Committee,” Cohen added.

Wentzell said last week in an interview with the Journal Inquirer that students who negatively viewed the SBAC test are only reflecting what they see from teachers.

Wentzell said Friday that a bright spot in the Smarter Balanced scores was the performance of the state’s youngest readers. She said more third and fourth graders performed at the top level than any of three other levels.

The research and advocacy groups Conn-CAN and Connecticut Council For Education Reform Friday released information about the website, ReadyCT.org, which the two groups produced to “give parents answers to frequently asked SBAC questions,” and other analysis

Both organizations said in a release that they will take time “to analyze the results thoroughly, and understand where our children stand.”

“We hope this website will help parents and community members who are searching for answers and understanding when it comes to their students’ SBAC results,” said Conn-CAN CEO Jennifer Alexander, in the release. “This baseline data gives us a new starting point to determine how well our schools and districts are preparing students for the challenges of college and career. Results from this test are one point of data to help improve practice and better serve students.