“ConnCAN’s report cards..help Connecticut’s parents take an active role in securing the best possible public education for their children,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN’s CEO. “The data allow us to have an honest conversation about the performance of our public schools so that we can maintain a laser-sharp focus on our most important task: improving student outcomes across the board.
While Norwalk as a district fared below average, several individual schools did appear on ConnCAN's Top 10 Connecticut public schools in categories in ranging from from Performance Gains to Low-Income Student Performance and African American Student Performance. Fox Run Elementary School ranked 10 in African American student performance. Two Norwalk school ranked in the top ten in Hispanic student performance--Brookside ranked 5th and Marvin ranked 8th. Side by Side Community School ranked 7th for middle school improvement. . The grades, assigned by ConnCAN for the past five years, are based on the 2010 CMT and CAPT scores. Click here to read about the Methodology of ConnCAN’s School and District Report Cards.
Here is how Norwalk scored:
Elementary Schools
Performance Gain: B
Overall Student Performance: C+
Student Subgroup Performance: D+
Achievement Gap: D-
Middle Schools
Performance Gain: C
Overall Student Performance: C
Student Subgroup Performance: C-
Achievement Gap: D
Performance Gain: B
Overall Student Performance: C+
Student Subgroup Performance: D+
Achievement Gap: D-
Middle Schools
Performance Gain: C
Overall Student Performance: C
Student Subgroup Performance: C-
Achievement Gap: D
High Schools:
Overall Student Performance: D
Student Subgroup Performance: F
Achievement Gap: F
Overall Student Performance: D
Student Subgroup Performance: F
Achievement Gap: F
Posts
Can someone shed some light as to what these grades actually mean? How is it possible that we score so poorly?
ReplyDeleteHow can we have failed our children so miserably? I have obviously failed my kids by having faith in the system while all my neighbors fled Norwalk.
Congratulations Fox Run, Brookside and Marvin!
ReplyDeletecan anyone tell me where the Caucasian students rank?
ReplyDeleteThis is really odd because it seems to me that a man named Warren Logee just gave a presentation to the Board of Education in the past week or so and while Norwalk is still a District in need, I believe he also stated that of all the Districts in need, we have closed our achievement gap the most. Yet ConnCAN gives Norwalk an "F" in the achievement gap.
ReplyDeleteSomething isn't right with this picture. Either ConnCAN is basing its evaluation on a totally different set of criteria than the State is, or someone is taking us for a ride.
I also have some serious questions about the idea that if one attends a "failing" school, then one is "failing". Is it really productive to splash comments about regarding the bad grades our schools receive? Think about how you might feel if you found out your school was given a "D" or an "F". At that point, I would shrug and say "Why bother?" I'm not saying hide the shortcomings under a rug, but announcing to everyone that the overall high school student performance is a "D" doesn't seem very encouraging.
Is this kind of report card actually saying to our students and our teachers, well, hey - too bad. You are trying your best but it's still not enough. Is that the message that we want to convey?
Sometimes the truth hurts 9:36 and the adults who have the lives of our children in their hands need to deal with it. The State sets too low of a bar. Connecticut has the biggest achievement gap in the US. Don't shoot the messenger just because you don't like the message.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shifting sea of poor acheivers. You offer the kids at the poor performing schools the chance to go to a different school. Those kids, often minority and poor performing (but not always) just go to other schools, (at a significant cost = transportation) and bring those school numbers down. How do the NCLB regulations help anyone when it comes to this topic. What would happen if the poor performing schools had ALL their students opt to move to another school? Staff from that school would, let me guess here.. move to the better schools their students do to accomodate the huge surge in attendance? And then what incentive does the poor performing school have to improve? It's so frustrating to see how screwed up this school district is and I have to agree with the first poster, I wonder if I am failing my children by not bailing on Norwalk sooner.
ReplyDelete