
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 30,
2016 —Amid the excitement of the new school year, the West Haven Public
School District has a special reason to celebrate. Recently released
state test scores show significant improvement across all grades tested
last spring in both English language arts and mathematics.
Of the six grades tested on the Smarter Balanced
exams—grades three through eight—every single one showed progress in
mathematics when compared to results of the year before. Meanwhile, five
of them showed growth in the area of ELA, while one maintained the same
level as the year before. Most grades significantly outpaced state
growth in both subject areas. The results will be presented at a Board
of Education meeting Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
“I firmly believe this progress is sustainable,”
Superintendent of Schools Neil C. Cavallaro said. “I think it’s very
important we celebrate those achievements. One area we are really
impressed with is third grade. That’s evidence of success with our early
childhood curriculum changes over the past few years and the support
we’ve been providing our teachers through our subject area
coordinators.”
The State Department of Education highlighted West
Haven’s progress among the state’s 30 Alliance School Districts, noting
West Haven exhibited the highest growth of all Alliance School Districts
in mathematics by advancing over the previous year’s scores by 10.3
percentage points. It was also one of six Alliance School Districts that
improved in ELA by 5 percentage points or higher—West Haven progressed
by 5.1 percentage points.
"The results from the 2015-16 Smarter Balanced test
demonstrate that Connecticut is moving in the right direction. West
Haven is among districts in the state that showed exceptional gains in
reading and math, a true testament to the commitment of educators,
families and the community working together to deliver on our promise of
a great education for all students," said State Commissioner of
Education Dianna R. Wentzell.
As another state official noted, West Haven also
ranked in the top 10 percent in the entire state when it came to amount
of growth shown over the previous year’s scores.
In the area of ELA, Alma E. Pagels Elementary School
showed the most growth of district schools at 13.4 percent, with Savin
Rock Community School coming in at a close second at 11.7 percent.
Regarding mathematics, gains were even higher: Washington Elementary
School scores were 24.4 percent higher than the previous year, while
Pagels’ were up by 21.6 percent.
Edith E. Mackrille Elementary School, named a “School
of Distinction” by the state for its 2014-2015 test scores, saw
additional success last year. It had the highest percentage in the
district of students scoring as “proficient” or “advanced” in both ELA
and mathematics, at 75.5 percent and 67 percent, respectively.
Noteworthy improvement was also seen among students whose first language is not English.
The district is seeing the gap between performance in
ELA and mathematics shrinking, Assistant Superintendent Anne Druzlowski
said. This is critical because it means schools are providing students
with a balanced amount of support in both academic areas, she explained.
“Our district has done what it needed to support
youngsters. Teachers’ efforts in how they teach reading and math have
been phenomenal. We plan on staying the course because what we’re doing
is working,” Druzolowski added. “Teachers and school and district
leaders have truly teamed up and pulled together to make this happen.”
District administrators attribute the schools’ success
to a multitude of factors. Over the past several years, the district
went through a curriculum overhaul; expanded support services in
everything from the English Language Learner department, to core
subjects and special education; implemented math and literacy family
nights to better engage parents in their children’s education;
facilitated more purposeful and targeted professional development for
teachers; transitioned to an all-day kindergarten schedule; and placed
more emphasis on early childhood education.
Mayor Edward M. O’Brien said he was also pleased to hear of the district’s progress and individual school accomplishments.
“I am excited and proud
to announce that our students have shown a significant increase in their
test scores for English language arts and mathematics,” O’Brien said.
“The overwhelmingly positive results of this state standardized test
reflect the wholehearted devotion of our teachers and school and
district leaders to meeting all of our students’ needs in academics and
social and emotional areas.”
Schools and grade levels will now use the scores to
guide their goals and plans for this year, while taking a close look at
what strategies are working and what areas need adjustments and
additional resources, said District Mathematics Coordinator Nicole
Danishevsky, who also oversees standardized testing in West Haven
schools and professional development for teachers.
“We are anticipating the growth trend to continue,
especially with our all-day kindergarten and other interventions we’ve
added over the past few years,” Danishevsky said. “We have our sights
set on leading other area districts in our performance results over the
next few years.”