Cider Mill School was one of the school’s that accounted for a large percentage of the district’s COVID-19 positivity in the early portion of 2021.
Hearst Connecticut MediaConnecticut’s standardized test scores — the Smarter Balanced Assessments — show a very slight improvement for Wilton in 2019 over 2018.
The scores were released Monday, Sept. 9.
In Wilton, tests in English Language Arts and math were given to 1,782 students — 96.1 percent of those enrolled — in third through eighth grade.
The tests are scored on four levels: Level 1, goal not met; Level 2, approaching goal; Level 3, goal met; and Level 4, exceeded goal.
Percentage that met or exceeded goal
ELA |
Math |
|
Darien |
84.4 |
84.8 |
Easton |
80.8 |
74.3 |
New Canaan |
89.6 |
88.3 |
Redding |
79.1 |
77.8 |
Ridgefield |
83.9 |
77.6 |
Weston |
77.6 |
75.1 |
Westport |
83.8 |
83.3 |
Wilton |
81.9 |
74.9 |
A total of 1,458 students— 81.9 percent — met or exceeded the goal in ELA and 1,334 students — 74.9 percent — met or exceeded the goal in math.
The 2019 scores for ELA broke down as follows:
Level 1 — 119 students, 6.7 percent.
Level 2 — 204 students, 11.5 percent.
Level 3 — 657 students, 36.9 percent.
Level 4 — 801 students, 45 percent.
Math scores for 2019 were:
Level 1 — 144 students, 8.1 percent
Level 2 — 304 students, 17.1 percent
Level 3 — 535 students, 30 percent
Level 4 — 799 students, 44.8 percent
In 2018, 80.3 percent of students met or exceeded the goal in ELA as did 73.3 percent of students tested in math.
Broken down by school, 82.7 percent of students in Cider Mill achieved or exceeded goal in ELA while 73 percent did the same in math.
At Middlebrook, 81.5 percent of students met or exceeded goal in ELA and 76.9 percent did the same in math.
There was little difference between boys and girls, with 85 percent of girls meeting or exceeding goal in ELA compared to 78.8 percent of boys.
In math, the numbers were a little closer with 76.5 percent of boys meeting or exceeding goal comapared to 73.2 percent of girls.
Among special education students, 264 took the ELA test and 39.8 percent met or exceeded goal. A total of 263 took the math test with 24.3 percent meeting or exceeding goal.
Superintendent of Schools Kevin Smith said he was “pleased with gains we have made and continue to focus on our growth areas.”
In a memo to members of the Board of Education he reviewed the variability across grade levels.
“In ELA, the percentage of students meeting grade level standards increased by 9 points in third grade, 2 points in fourth grade, and 12 points in seventh grade. The percentage of students decreased by 4 points in fifth grade, 1 point in sixth grade, and 6 points in eighth grade.
“In math, the percentage of students meeting grade level standards increased by 7 points in third grade, 4 points in fourth grade, 10 points in seventh grade, and remained the same in eighth grade. The percentage of students decreased by 7 points in fifth grade and 4 points in sixth grade.”
Test results will be discussed at the board’s Sept. 26 meeting.
DRG A
Among the school districts in District Reference Group A, which includes Wilton, New Canaan had the highest percentage of students meeting or exceeding goal in both English — 89.6 percent — and math — 88.3 percent.
Wilton’s scores place it fifth in ELA and seventh in math of eight school districts.
In DRG A, the percentages of students meeting or exceeding goal in ELA were:
Darien — 84.4 percent.
Easton — 80.8 percent.
New Canaan — 89.6 percent.
Redding — 79.1 percent.
Ridgefield — 83.9 percent.
Weston — 77.6 percent.
Westport — 83.8 percent.
Wilton — 81.9 percent.
The percentages of DRG A students who met or exceeded goal in math were:
Darien — 84.8 percent.
Easton — 74.3 percent.
New Canaan — 88.3 percent.
Redding — 77.8 percent.
Ridgefield — 77.6 percent.
Weston — 75.1 percent.
Westport — 83.3 percent
Wilton — 74.9 percent.
Statewide
Statewide, fewer than half of some 231,000 students — 48.1 percent — who took the test last spring are deemed at grade level or above in math. The results for ELA were better, with 55.7 percent meeting or exceeding goal.
Now in its fifth year, the 2019 Smarter Balanced assessment shows average scores, overall, have increased statewide.
In 2018, the statewide reading achievement level was 55.3 percent and in math it was 46.8 percent.
Across the state, there was close to a 99-percent participation rate in the test, state officials said.
The test is aligned to the Connecticut Core Standards, considered more rigorous than the previous Connecticut Mastery Test. It also meets federal accountability standards.
The complete results for the state, districts and schools, and student groups are available on the public EdSight portal at http://edsight.ct.gov.
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