Curriculum Review

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2009 MCAS Analysis
Prepared by Scott R. Morrison Director of
Curriculum and Instructional Technology 11/3/09
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Presentation Objectives

• Spring 2009 Results
• Trends Areas of Opportunity
• DESE Growth Model

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Spring 2009 Results
ELEMENTARY
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
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Spring 2009 Results
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade 6 (part of elem. last year)
Grade 7
Grade 8
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Spring 2009 Results
HIGH SCHOOL
Grade 10
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TRENDS (Elem.)

• ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (areas of opportunity)
• ELA
• Nonfiction inferencing, ID story facts, story
  sequence ID main idea topic development
• MATH
• Fractions extending patterns working with
  values (determine totals find missing) using
  proportional relationships interpreting data
  sets and tables length conversions
• SCIENCE
• Life Science Only 2 of 9 questions released
• Earth/Space Rocks minerals (change processes)
  50 of items released
• Beginning in 2009, approximately 50 of common
  test items in grades 3-8 will be released.

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TRENDS (MS)

• MIDDLE SCHOOL (areas of opportunity)
• ELA
• Non-fiction ID non-fiction components story
  facts, poetry, inferencing reason for word use
  style and language (figurative language)
• MATH
• Equivalent expressions determining data values
  selecting table computing weight conversion
• SCIENCE
• Measurements reading tables graphing
  understanding heat transfer substance vs.
  mixture
• Beginning in 2009, approximately 50 of common
  test items in grades 3-8 will be released.

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TRENDS (HS)

• HIGH SCHOOL (areas of opportunity)
• ELA
• Nonfiction style/language
• MATH
• Corresponding values determining median value in
  a table value computation
• SCIENCE
• Cells genes body system
• Beginning in 2009, approximately 50 of common
  test items in grades 3-8 will be released.

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The GROWTH MODEL
Performance Achievement Growth
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What is it?

• Describes a method of measuring individual
  student progress on statewide assessment (MCAS)
  by tracking student scores from one year to the
  next.
• Starting next year, each student with at least
  two consecutive years of MCAS scores will receive
  a student growth percentile (SGP), which measures
  how much the student changed relative to other
  students statewide with similar score histories
• Student growth percentiles range from 1 to 99,
  where higher numbers represent higher growth and
  lower numbers represent lower growth. This method
  works independently of MCAS performance levels.
• All students, no matter the scores they earned on
  past MCAS tests, have an equal chance to
  demonstrate growth
• Growth percentiles are calculated in ELA and
  Mathematics for
• students in grades 4 through 8 and for grade 10.

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Why measure growth?

• A way to measure progress for students at all
  performance levels
• - A student can perform at a low level but still
  improve relative to his/her academic peers
• - Another could perform well but not improve
  much from year to year
• Provides evidence of improvement even among those
  with low performance
• Gives high performing students and schools
  something to strive for beyond proficiency

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Student Growth Percentiles (SGP)

• Student Growth Percentiles A measure of student
  progress that compares changes in a students
  MCAS scores to changes in MCAS scores of other
  students with similar performance profiles.
• The DESE refers to students with similar score
  histories as academic peers.
• While student growth percentiles enable educators
  to chart the growth of an individual student
  compared to that of academic peers, student
  growth percentiles can eventually be aggregated
  to understand growth at the subgroup, school, or
  district level.
• The rate of change is expressed as a percentile.
  In interpreting
• these data, it is important to note that
  differences in growth
• scores from year to year less than 10 points
  should not be
• considered meaningful or significant.

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DESE Growth ModelDistrict Achievement and Growth
(ELA)
According to the growth model results, "high
growth" is defined as growth in a subject at or
above the 60th percentile, typical growth is
between the 40th and 60th percentile, and low
growth is below the 40th percentile.
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DESE Growth ModelDistrict Achievement and Growth
(MATH)

According to the growth model results, "high
growth" is defined as growth in a subject at or
above the 60th percentile, typical growth is
between the 40th and 60th percentile, and low
growth is below the 40th percentile.
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Best Practices for Using Growth Data

• Dont allow growth data to obscure achievement
  data. Use it to complement achievement data.
• Growth data is best used to add context to
  achievement data.
• Use two years of data if its available.
• The Department has gathered two years of growth
  data for students in grades 4 through 8. The
  10th grade results could only be calculated for
  the first time in 2009 hence, only one year of
  growth data is available for grade 10.
• Look at differences across grades as well as
  between grades.
• Because every student has an equal opportunity
  to grow at a relatively high or low level,
  regardless of their grade, it is appropriate to
  combine grades at the school, district, or group
  level.
• Differences in medians of less than 10 points are
  not likely to be meaningful.
• As rule of thumb, differences in medians of
  less than 10 are not likely to be educationally
  meaningful at the school or district level.
• Medians above 60 or below 40 are relatively
  unusual.
• Roughly one school in five had a median growth
  percentile higher than 60 and a slightly smaller
  proportion had medians below 40. About five
  percent had medians above 70 or below 30 and
  less than one percent had growth scores higher
  than 80 or below 20.

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REPORT CARD UPDATE

• Report Card Committee
• Scott Morrison Wendy Manninen Emily MacRae
  Nicole Curcuru Laurie Colpoys Kimberly Field
  Margaret Sears Jeff Bodmer-Turner Joyce
  Swedberg Elise O. Dudley
• Meetings
• Committee meetings, grade level meetings,
  elementary district meetings, specialist meetings
• All meeting have been ongoing since the August
  2009
• Key Accomplishments
• 1) New trimester reporting system
• 2) New reporting system of conferences and
  portfolios for kindergarten
• 3) New aligned pilot progress report for grades
  1-5
• 4) New Parent Guide to Progress Reports for
  families