Friday, September 28, 2012

Some MA Districts Post High Out-of-School Suspension Rates

Below is a list of the top 20 Massachusetts school districts with the highest out of school suspension rates for school year 2011-12. Individual charter schools are considered separate districts by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

  1. Roxbury Preparatory Charter: 56.1%
  2. Grove Hall Preparatory Charter: 50%
  3. City on a Hill Charter: 43.6%
  4. Up Academy Charter Boston: 38%
  5. New Leadership Charter: 36.6%
  6. Boston Preparatory Charter: 35.1%
  7. Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter: 32.1%
  8. Holyoke: 27.3%
  9. Edward Brooke Charter: 24.9%
  10. Hampden Charter School of Science: 24.7%
  11. Codman Academy Charter: 23.5%
  12. Spirit of Knowledge Charter: 22.8%
  13. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence: 22.5%
  14. Edward Brooke Charter 2: 22.4%
  15. Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter: 19.4%
  16. Community Charter School of Cambridge: 19.4%
  17. Fall River: 18.4%
  18. Berkshires Arts and Technology Academy: 18.1%
  19. Excel Academy Charter Chelsea: 17.9%
  20. Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical Institute: 17.6%

Citation: www.doe.mass.edu

Thursday, September 27, 2012

LPS: Achievement Gap in 3rd Grade Reading

Here it was noted that there was a 29-point difference in 3rd grade reading proficiency rates between low income and non-low income students in the Lynn public school system. Below are the proficiency rates at this level by school; all numbers are in percentages. The positive or negative numbers in parentheses indicates the difference from the individual school's overall proficiency rate. In 2012, 41% of 3rd grade students citywide scored proficient or higher on the reading exam.

*N/A - Data is not reported for sample sizes less than 10.
**No data at the individual grade levels was reported for Washington

Low IncomeNon-Low Income
Aborn56 (-16)90 (+18)
Brickett39 (-4)54 (+11)
Callahan31 (-4)53 (+18)
Cobbet24 (-2)N/A
Connery23 (-12)N/A
Drewicz46 (0)N/A
Ford31 (0)N/A
Harrington28 (+3)10 (-15)
Hood 47 (-5)70 (+18)
Ingalls39 (-1)N/A
Lincoln-Thomson42 (-11)80 (+27)
Lynn Woods20 (-28)65 (+17)
Sewell Anderson42 (-4)60 (+14)
Shoemaker36 (-15)61 (+10)
Sisson71 (-5)82 (+6)
Tracy22 (-6)N/A
Washington**N/AN/A

The school with the largest gap between low income and non-low income students was Lynn Woods (45 points) while the school with the smallest gap was Sisson (11 points). Harrington was the only school were low income students had a higher proficiency rate than non-low income students.

For low income students, Aborn, Drewicz, Hood, Lincoln-Thomson, Sewall Anderson and Sisson all had higher proficiency rates than the city's overall 3rd grade reading proficiency rate. The proficiency rate specifically for low income students in Lynn as a whole was 36% (a 5-point difference from the aggregate).

All of the schools with available data except Harrington had a higher proficiency rate than the city for the non-low income subgroup. This figure was 65% just for non-low income students.

Citation: www.doe.mass.edu

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Full Lynn MCAS Score Breakdown by Subgroup

On the 2012 MCAS, the Lynn Public School system's scores were distributed in the following way (all numbers are in percentages):


Adv.Prof.NIW
ELA7433317
Math12283426

Key
Adv. = Advanced (scores 260 - 280)
Prof. = Proficient (scores 240 - 259)
NI = Needs Improvement (scores 220 - 239)
W = Warning/Failure (scores 200 - 219)



The distribution of scores, however, varied depending on the subgroup. See below for ELA breakdown by subgroup for the city.


Adv.Prof.NIW
Students w/ Disabilities 0  1633 50
High Needs5403520

ELL 013 4641
Former ELL 344 39 13

Low Income 541 35 19
Non-Low Income 1651 22 10
Title I6 42 34 17
Non-Title I 2153 11 15

Afr Amer/Black 742 32 19
Asian 843 36 12
Hispanic/Latino4 38 37 21
Multi-Race,Non-Hisp/Lat.10 47 26 17
White14 52 24 11

Male 539 34 21
Female9 46 31 13

Based on the Cumulative Performance Indices (CPI), LPS performed better than the state in the  African American, Hispanic/Latino, Title I  and ELL/Former ELL (combined) subgroup categories. Here we see that Female students performed better than Males with a higher percentage in the advanced and proficient categories. Additionally, this data indicates that half of all Students with Disabilities received a 'Warning/Failing' grade on the ELA exam. Not surpprisingly, the breakdowns differed at the individual school level. At Cobbet, for example, 33% of African American students were proficient (excluding the advanced category) in ELA while 82% were proficient at Aborn. At Classical, 91% of Non-Low Income students achieved an advanced or proficient score.

In 3rd Grade Reading, which has been pinpointed as a marker for future academic success, 58% of White students were proficient or better while 41% of African American/Black students, 40% of Asian students, 32% of Hispanic/Latino students were proficient or better.  There was a 29% difference between Low Income and Non-Low Income students at this level (36% vs. 65%).



Below is the breakdown for Math by subgroup.

Adv.Prof.NIW
Students w/ Disabilities  18 25 65
High Needs9 25 36 30

ELL2 13 35 50
Former ELL 9 3038 22

Low Income 926 3629
Non-Low Income 2135 27 17
Title I 1127 36 27
Non-Title I 2833 17 22

Afr Amer/Black 923 34 34
Asian 2033 31 17
Hispanic/Latino8 24 37 31
Multi-Race,Non-Hisp/Lat.17 24 32 27
White17 35 30 18

Male12 27 33 29
Female12 28 36 24

According to the CPIs, Lynn did better than the state in the Hispanic/Latino subgroup and the Title I subgroup. Unlike the ELA portion of the exam, Males and Females performed equally on the math exam. Math scores also varied by school such that 0% of Asian students at Ford received a 'Warning/Failing' grade while 11% of Asian students at Drewicz fell into this category. At the middle school level, 46% of Low Income students were proficient or higher in math while this statistic was 34% at Pickering and 17% at Marshall.

    Citation: www.doe.mass.edu

    Monday, September 24, 2012

    Some Bright Spots In Achievement Among Subgroups in the Lynn Schools

    While Lynn's 2012 MCAS scores were a mixed bag in terms of increases in some areas and decreases in others, there were some bright spots among the schools' subgroups this year. The percentile refer to the school's performance in the specific subgroup category relative to other schools statewide that serve the same grade span (percentiles range from 1 - 99). For example, a subgroup performace that is greater than 75% of schools serving common grades statewide is at the 75th percentile.

    Aborn
    • 94th Percentile in ELA for High Needs Students
    • 97th Percentile in ELA for Low Income Students
    • 96th Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 94th Percentile in ELA for White Students
    • 91st Percentile in Math for High Needs Students
    • 96th Percentile in Math for Low Income Students
    • 96th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Brickett
    • 76th Percentile in Math for ELL/Former ELL Students
    Callahan
    • 80th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 85th Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students 
    Connery
    • 74th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Ford
    • 74th Percentile in ELA for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 66th Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 83rd Percentile in Science for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 61st Percentile in Science for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Harrington
    • 80th Percentile in Science for ELL/Former ELL Students
    Ingalls
    • 96th Percentile in ELA for Students w/ Disabilities
    • 85th Percentile in ELA for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 97th Percentile in Math for Students w/ Disabilities
    • 81st Percentile in Math for High Needs Students
    • 86th Percentile in Math for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 87th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 90th Percentile in Science for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 90th Percentile in Science for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Lincoln-Thomson
    • 94th Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 92nd Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Lynn Classical
    • 91st Percentile in ELA for White Students
    • 81st Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 93rd Percentile in Science for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Lynn English
    • 69th Percentile in Math for Black/African American Students
    Sewall Anderson
    • 91st Percentile for in ELA for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 89th Percentile in ELA for Hispanic Students
    • 84th Percentile for in ELA Low Income Students
    • 82nd Percentile in ELA for High Needs Students
    • 92nd Percentile in Math for Low Income Students
    • 96th Percentile in Math for Students with Disabilities
    • 92nd Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
    Shoemaker
    • 97th Percentile in ELA for High Needs Students
    • 99th Percentile in ELA for Low Income Students
    • 99th Percentile in ELA for Students w/ Disabilities
    • 96th Percentile in Math for High Needs Students
    • 97th Percentile in Math for Low Income Students
    • 97th Percentile in Math for Students w/ Disabilities 
    Sisson
    • 95th Percentile in ELA for High Needs Students
    • 95th Percentile in ELA for Low Income Students
    • 96th Percentile in ELA ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 93rd Percentile in ELA for Hispanic/Latino Students
    • 96th Percentile in Math for High Needs Students
    • 98th Percentile in Math for Low Income Students
    • 97th Percentile in Math for ELL/Former ELL Students
    • 96th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students
     Tracy
    • 75th Percentile in Math for High Needs Students
    • 80th Percentile in Math for Hispanic/Latino Students

    Salem MCAS Results 2012

    Below are Salem's proficiency rates (advanced and proficient scores combined) on the 2012 MCAS  for the district as a whole and then by school. All proficiency rates are in percentages; positive or negative numbers in parentheses in the  grade level or 'ALL' fields represent the percent change from 2011. Also included is each school's Accountability and Assistance Level. Accountability levels are as follows:
    • Level 1:  On track to college and career readiness
    • Level 2:  Not meeting gap closing goals
    • Level 3:  Focus: Lowest performing 20% of schools (including schools with the largest gaps)
    • Level 4:  Priority: Lowest performing schools
    • Level 5:  Priority: Chronically under-performing schools
    'School Performance' refers to the school's overall performance relative to other schools statewide that serve the same grade span (percentiles range from 1 - 99). For example, a school performance that is greater than 75% of schools serving common grades statewide is at the 75th percentile.

    In terms of demographics, Salem was 11.3% Limited English Proficiency, 24.9% First Language not English,  57.7% Low Income, and 23.1% Special Education in 2011-12. There were 4,459 students in SPS during the last school year.


    SALEM (DISTRICT)


    ELAMath
    3 45 (-1)47 (+1)
    4 36 (+1)38 (+8)
    5 46 (-6)43  (+3)
    6 48 (-6)40 (-5)
    7 59 (-1)36 (0)
    8 70 (+2)41 (+7)
    10 77 (+11)60 (+1)
    All 53 (+1)43 (-1)



    BY SCHOOL

    BATES

    ELA Math
    34236
    43451
    54656
    All40 (-10)48 (-4)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 2 (up from Level 3)
    • School Performance: 23rd Percentile

    BENTLEY

    ELA Math
    33535
    42121
    53627
    All30 (-1)27 (+1)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 4
    • School Performance: 4th Percentile

    CARLTON

    ELA Math
    33934
    42730
    56136
    All39 (-1)33 (-3)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 3
    • Focus on Students w/ Disabilities; Low income 
    • School Performance: 8th Percentile

    COLLINS

    ELAMath
    65041
    76036
    86939
    All60 (0)38 (+1)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 3
    •  Focus on Students w/disabilities; Hispanic/Latino; ELL or Former ELL 
    • School Performance: 13th Percentile 

    HORACE MANN

    ELA Math
    34040
    45652
    53737
    All44 (-4)43 (+6)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 2
    • School Performance: 27th Percentile

    NATHANIEL BOWDITCH

    ELA Math
    33744
    43131
    53531
    6 24 29
    7 56 24
    8 78 48
    All42 (-4)35 (+2)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 3
    • Focus on Hispanic/Latino; ELL or Former ELL
    • School Performance: 15th Percentile


    SALEM ACADEMY CHARTER


    ELA Math
    66474
    76062
    88959
    10 92 92
    All75 (-4)70 (+8)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 1


    SALEM HIGH

    ELA Math
    1080 (+12)63 (+2)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 3
    • School Performance: 11th Percentile


    SALTONSTALL

    ELA Math
    36161
    43938
    55346
    67564
    77048
    88864
    All63 (-3)52 (+2)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 3
    • Very low MCAS participation (Less than 90%)
    • Focus on Hispanic/Latino, High Needs and Aggregate
    • School Performance: 57th Percentile


    WITCHCRAFT HEIGHTS


    ELA Math
    36375
    45246
    56665
    All61 (+5)63 (+4)
    • Accountability and Assistance Level: Level 2
    • School Performance: 58th Percentile

    Citation: www.doe.mass.edu