Connecticut Mastery Test CMT

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Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)

• Steve Martin, CMT Program Manager
• Bureau of Research, Evaluation, and Student
  Assessment
• Connecticut State Department of Education

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CMT Background Information What is the CMT, and
why does Connecticut Administer this test?
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State Legislation

• Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-14n
  currently mandates a statewide mastery test to be
  administered annually in the spring to all
  public-school students enrolled in grades 3,4, 5,
  6, 7 and 8.

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Federal Legislation (NCLB)

• Requires all states to test public-school
  students in these grades (and one high-school
  grade). One goal of this federal legislation is
  for all students to perform at the proficient
  level or above on state administered tests by
  2014.

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History of CMT Subjects Tested
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The Four Item Types

• Multiple-Choice
• Usually four answer options
• DRP gives five answer options
• Grid-In (mathematics only)
• 7 x 42 ?
• Short-Answer
• Can including drawing graphs and shapes
• Extended-Response

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The Connecticut Mastery Test

• Mathematics
• Reading
• Reading Comprehension
• Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)
• Writing
• Direct Assessment of Writing
• Editing and Revising
• Science

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(No Transcript)
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Reporting Student Results

• Five Performance Levels
• Advanced
• Goal
• Proficient
• Basic
• Below Basic

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Reporting Student Results

• Five Performance Levels
• Advanced
• Goal
• Proficient
• Basic
• Below Basic

According to NCLB, all students must be scoring
at Proficient or above in mathematics and reading
by 2014.
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Current Goal for NCLB Accountability

• CMT Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• Reading 68 at/above Proficient
• Math 74 at/above Proficient
• Participation 95 must participate

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Consequences of the results for students, schools
and districts
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If a school or subgroup does not achieve Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) in the same content area
for two consecutive years, the school is
identified as in need of improvement. This will
put the school in Year 1 of school improvement.
The law is specific to schools and district who
receive federal Title I funding
School Improvement Year 1
All schools in Year 1 of school improvement must
implement a school improvement plan
Title I schools in Year 1 of school improvement,
in addition to creating a school improvement
plan, must also provide the opportunity for all
students in the school to transfer to another
public school within the district that has not
been identified as in need of improvement.
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School Improvement Year 2
must continue to implement the Year 1
consequences, but must also begin to offer
supplemental educational services.
School Improvement Year 3
must continue to implement the Year 1 and Year 2
consequences, but must also take corrective
action measures such as instituting a new
curriculum or appointing an outside expert to
advise the school.
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School Improvement Year 4
must continue corrective action, but must also
begin planning for restructuring.
School Improvement Year 5
must implement the restructuring plan they
developed during the course of the last year. The
restructuring plan must reflect major reforms,
such as significant changes in staffing,
leadership, structure and governance.
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CMT Resources
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For a Complete Listing Visit the Department
Website

• http//www.sde.ct.gov/sde/
• Then click Student Assessment
• Then click Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)
• Then click CMT Resources and Publications
• Or click CMT Assessment Data

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ASSESSMENT DATA CMTReports.com provides a robust
data source for CMT reports. Through this
website, you can build reports that are highly
customized. For example
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This report shows the difference between grade 5
males and females for the whole state on
mathematics and reading performance with respect
to proficiency scores in 2007. Notice that
females have better scores than males statewide,
not only in reading, but in mathematics as
well. Remember that this years AYP targets
are Reading 68 at/above Proficient Math 74
at/above Proficient This year, statewide, the
students are achieving these goals, but fall
short of the 100 Goal called for by 2014.
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AYP 74
AYP 68
These data are for the same statewide group
(grade 5, 2007) but show subgroup performance for
race/ethnicity, poverty, special education and
for English language learners. I have
highlighted subgroups that do not hit current AYP
targets statewide.
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Questions?