Lynn MCAS Results: Marshall Middle School

As a member of the Thurgood Marshall Middle School Council during the last two school years, I have been able to see how hard the teachers and school administration there are working to improve instruction and student outcomes. In previous years, the school reported lower test scores when compared to the other middle schools in Lynn. On the 2014 MCAS exam, Marshall did see some improvement particularly in math and science, two subjects that they had been an area for concern. 

	ELA	Math	Science
6	46 (+2)	38 (+14)	N/A
7	48 (+3)	18 (+4)	N/A
8	53 (+6)	22 (+6)	23 (+19)
ALL	49 (+3)	26 (+8)	23 (+19)

On the 8th grade science exam, Marshall's proficiency rate increases 19 points, from 4% in 2013 to 23% in 2014. Additionally, Marshall had 2% of 8th grade students receive an Advanced score in science, up from 0 the previous year. In math, Marshall's proficiency rate increased 8 points from 2013; the percentage of students receiving an Advanced score in math was a little more than double that of the year before. On the flip side, the percentage of students receiving a Warning/Failing score in each subject decreased significantly:

Another metric used to measure student performance is the Cumulative Performance Index (CPI). CPIs are a measure of the extent to which students are progressing toward 100% proficiency in ELA or math; the goal is a CPI of 100 which is the equivalent of all students having achieved proficiency (an advanced or proficient score) on the exam. More specifically, each student participating in the MCAS is given a score based on well they perform on the MCAS which is later averaged among the district, school or subgroup to determine the CPI. Possible scores are 0 (Warning/Failing - Low), 25 (Warning/Failing - High), 50 (Needs Improvement - Low), 75 (Needs Improvement - High), and 100 (Proficient or Advanced). 

Below are Marshall's CPI numbers for math and science.

In 2014, the state mandated CPI target for Marshall in math was 66.5; the actual CPI was 58.9.  The target science CPI was 62.3; the actual CPI 61.9 which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) considered 'On Target.' A few subgroups were also considered 'On Target' in science; these included High Needs and Low Income. African American and Hispanic/Latino students were 'Above Target' in science. Marshall's 2014 science CPI was 20.3 points higher than its CPI in 2013.

A third metric is the Student Growth Percentile (SGP). Per the DESE, the SGP at individual level " measures student progress by comparing one student's progress to the progress of other students with similar MCAS performance histories. For example, a student with an SGP of 15 in 7th grade English Language Arts (ELA) progressed as much or better than 15% of his or her peers with similar MCAS histories from 6th to 7th grade ELA. At the aggregate level, the SGP is the median student growth percentile for the subgroup, school or district. The 6 year goal is an SGP of 51.

 

Marshall's ELA Student Growth Percentile this year was 47 while the math SGP was 42 (up from 26 in 2013). The largest SGP subgroup change in math was among white students who went from 18 in 2013 to 47 in 2014; seven of the eight subgroups with math SGPs reported for Marshall saw double digit increases in growth.

Overall, Marshall moved from the 3rd to the 4th Percentile relative to other schools serving similar grades. 

Citation: www.doe.mass.edu