The bad news for Springfield did not discourage Superintendent Daniel Warwick, who said the school will now be eligible for as much as $500,000 in federal grants.
Students study English in the sixth-grade class of Kevin Brown at the East Meadow Elementary School on. The school was recognized for high achievement by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Wednesday.The state revealed the ups and downs of the latest Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems scores Wednesday, praising three Western Massachusetts schools for exceptional achievement while placing a new Springfield school in the Level 4 category for continual low achievement.
Officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education unveiled the scores from the exam students in grades three through 10 took in the spring. They praised the state’s 1,587 schools statewide for showing the best grades in the 14-history of the test.
Three Western Massachusetts elementary schools were among the 64 statewide honored for high achievement. Brimfield Elementary, East Meadow in Granby and Sunderland Elementary were all recognized as commendation schools.
On the other side, William DeBerry School in Springfield was one of three schools statewide added to the list of Level 4 schools because of their chronic underperformance. Springfield now has 11 schools which are required to improve within three years or face a state takeover.
The bad news did not discourage Springfield Superintendent Daniel J. Warwick, who said the school will now be eligible for as much as $500,000 in federal grants.
“We are looking at this as a positive for DeBerry School. Our Level 4 elementary schools have made significant gains,” Warwick said.
In 2010, 10 of Springfield’s schools were named Level 4 and some have done well in the past two years. This year Homer Street School saw an average 18 percent increase in English and 19 percent gain in math on the MCAS. Already Homer, Alfred Zanetti, which saw 7 percent gains in English and math this year, and Gerena, which saw a 7 percent gain in English and a 6 percent increase in math, have met the three-year improvement goals in the two years since they were put on the list.
“Our schools, some of the poorest schools in the commonwealth, have made the most gains,” he said.
After-school tutoring, improved use of data, extended days and the addition of social workers to assist families are some things helping. But, he said it is the teachers’ excellent work that make the biggest difference.
Whiles some Level 4 elementary schools have excelled, the two middle schools saw decreases, with Chestnut Street Middle declining 2 percent in math and 2 percent English and John F. Kennedy Middle declining 9 percent in English and 5 percent in math. High School of Commerce showed a 3 percent gain in English but a 4 percent decline in math.
The biggest challenges statewide, especially in urban districts, are in the middle schools. In addition, Commerce just received grant money to fund initiatives in August, he said.
At East Meadow School in Granby the news was all good.
The school was recognized for narrowing proficiency gaps as well as high achievement. The biggest gain was in the fourth grade where students saw a 17 percent increase in English and a 15 percent increase in math.
“I think the fact that we try to keep our class sizes small so we can meet the needs of each student makes a difference,” said Jennifer Champagne, a fifth-grade teacher at East Meadow.
Most classes average 20 students and special education teacher and a reading specialist also assist students. During reading lessons, teachers have about 15 students so they have the time to give children individual attention, she said.
Teachers also plan together, share ideas and help each other solve problems with students, Champagne said.
Baylee Cox, 11, a sixth-grader said it helped that her teacher gave students practice questions from previous MCAS tests last year so children knew the type of questions that they were going to face.
“It really helps to ask questions in class. If you are unsure about something, other people are too,” she said.
She and Joshua White, 11, a sixth-grader, said paying attention in class and studying makes a difference.
“I worked really hard last year and studied a lot for tests,” White said. “If you have time, like in the car and there is a test you can study for it.”
Principal Jonathan Cavallo and Granby Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez said they have used new techniques but in the end the commendation was due to the hard work of teachers, students and the community support that has given the school enough money to keep class sizes low.
“We have professional development in differentiated instruction across the grade levels which helped,” Cavallo said. The method teaches educators how to meet the needs of children of different abilities at the same time.
Last year teachers also started a new program where they spend 20 minutes daily on math drills so students know basic concepts well, he said.
“Among our teachers, they make sure there is an understanding and mastery of material before they move on,” he said.
Rodriguez said there has been a bigger focus on examining test data to see where students need help and where the gaps in instruction are. The school system has been more careful to ensure the curriculum meets state standards.
“I did a survey in the community to ask what our strengths and weakness are,” she said. “A lot of people said there wasn’t a consistency in each level and we have started talking about how to close that gap.”
Most superintendents said the majority of scores remained the same, even if they increased overall in statewide.
“The first thing I can say is flat line,” Holyoke Superintendent David L. Dupont said.
One of the surprises is Holyoke students in the new “high risk” category showed the most improvements.
The category is made up of students who have learning disabilities, don’t speak English well, are low-income or have other risks that make them less likely to achieve academically. In the past, children were put in specific categories but that meant a student could be counted several times in different categories.
But statewide there were a lot of improvements among high-risk students. For example, scores for the 10th-grade English test showed learning disabled students gained 11 points overall, low-income students gained 8 points and the general student population gained 4 points.
There are two Level 4 schools in Holyoke. Morgan stayed the same in English and increased by 2 percent overall in math while William J. Dean Technical High School saw a 2 percent decline in English an 6 percent decline in math.
“When you look at these and consider all the interventions and all the extra professional development we added there is no way I’m going to blame the staff and I’m not going to blame the kids,” he said.
Holyoke, like Springfield, has some of the largest number of high-risk students. More than 83 percent are low-income, 27 percent don’t speak English and 26 percent have learning disabilities.
Dupont said the district is the process of changing the math program and Dean has been going through multiple changes and need time for improvements to work.
A full list of scores can be seen on the state education department's website.
