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Hartford Students Make CMT Gains Again

Scores Increase In Most Areas For 3rd Consecutive Year

Steven Goode

July 16, 2010

For the third consecutive year, Hartford students have made gains on the Connecticut Mastery Test.

For the third consecutive year Hartford students have made gains on the Connecticut Mastery Test.

"This is year three, and it's a trend," Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski declared Thursday as he and other district administrators, principals and teachers celebrated the CMT scores for third- through eighth-grade students.

Thirty-one of the city's 44 schools made gains on the CMT, the superintendent pointed out.

Although still lagging behind state averages, city students made significant increases in their scores on the reading portion of the test. In Grade 3, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level increased from 37.7 to 47.7, and the percentage scoring at goal increased from 18.2 to 26.9.

Sixth-grade students who scored at the proficient level in reading rose from 50.8 percent to 64.8 percent, and at the goal level, the percentage increased from 35.2 to 45.3.

In eighth-grade reading, the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level jumped from 51.4 to 59.5, and those reaching goal rose from 34.1 percent 44.9 percent.

Eighth-grade students also posted large increases in the math section. Those who scored as proficient rose from 53.8 percent to 63.1 percent. The percentage of those who reached goal jumped from 23.5 to 32.9.

The number of schools to make goal on the district's own assessment tool — known as the overall school index — doubled from five to 10, Adamowski said.

"You can feel the effect of our intervention programs," he said, applauding the efforts of administrators and teachers.

"We've done better only due to the fact that you have led well and taught well," he said.

There were some areas of concern, however as Grade 4 reading scores dipped slightly. In the fifth grade, the decline was more pronounced' the percentage of students reaching the proficient level on the test dropped from 40.2 to 32.2. The percentage of Grade 5 students scoring at goal declined from 23.3 to 18.

Writing scores also declined across the board for students in grades 7 and 8.

Adamowski said the district would investigate the setbacks, and he added that the fourth and fifth grades were the next — and last — in line for updated curriculum development.

James Starr, executive director of Achieve Hartford!, a local education fund created to help sustain the city's educational reform efforts, said the scores continue the positive trend of the past several years and should help to regain the community's trust after many years of ups and downs.

"This should help bring people together and keep focusing on strategies to protect the momentum," Starr said.