Sharon Center Mastery Test results mostly unreported

SHARON — Though the results for the 2009 Connecticut Mastery Test were made public earlier this month, most of the results for Sharon Center School were unreported.

This is because results are not presented for classes with fewer than 20 students. The data is made available to schools but is not included in the published results.

For the grade levels that were presented, many of the classes received low marks in achieving the goal level for tests.  

However, in an e-mail to The Lakeville Journal, Sharon Center School Principal Karen Manning said that because of small class sizes throughout the school, the test results do not truly represent the abilities of individual students.

“Statistically, our sample sizes are very small, under 25 [students],� Manning wrote. “Small fluctuations in class composition, or events such as unexpected extended absences, can produce very large statistical changes. This means that we often focus our response at the individual level as we strive to improve student learning. We focus on developing students’ assessment stamina and understanding of assessment vocabulary.�

The 2009 tests are called the “fourth-generation� CMTs and include tests in math, reading, writing and (for students in grades five and eight) science.

Students are determined to be at or above “proficient� and at or above “goal� (which requires a higher score than proficiency).

In math and writing, the results were published for only the fourth- and seventh-grade classes.

In math, 52.4 percent of the fourth-grade class achieved goal level, and 90.5 percent were  proficient.

In the seventh grade, 79.2 percent achieved goal while 87.5 percent were proficient.

“The mathematics test consists of 25 content strands,� Manning wrote in her e-mail. “Two strands that continue to challenge our students are integrated understandings and estimating solutions to problems. We will continue to address these standards in our instruction.�

In the writing portion of the test, 57.1 percent of the fourth grade achieved goal level with 76.2 percent proficient.

The seventh grade fared somewhat better, with 66.7 achieving the goal level and 91.7 percent proficient.

In the reading portion of the test, only the results from the seventh grade were reported, with 75 percent of the class achieving goal level. However, the entire class was proficient.

“The reading comprehension section consists of general understanding, developing interpretation, making reader connections and examining content and structure,� Manning wrote. “We prepare students for the test by using teacher-designed test preparation units and curriculum that is aligned to state standards.... We continue to put special emphasis on making reader-text connections, an area that is challenging for some middle-school students.�

Results of the science test were reported for only the eighth grade, with 75 percent at goal level and 83.3 percent proficient.

“We are lucky because the community works hard at this and so do the students,� Manning said.

Latest News

Walking among the ‘Herd’

Walking among the ‘Herd’

Michel Negroponte

Betti Franceschi

"Herd,” a film by Michel Negroponte, will be screening at The Norfolk Library on Saturday April 13 at 5:30 p.m. This mesmerizing documentary investigates the relationship between humans and other sentient beings by following a herd of shaggy Belted Galloway cattle through a little more than a year of their lives.

Negroponte and his wife have had a second home just outside of Livingston Manor, in the southwest corner of the Catskills, for many years. Like many during the pandemic, they moved up north for what they thought would be a few weeks, and now seldom return to their city dwelling. Adjacent to their property is a privately owned farm and when a herd of Belted Galloways arrived, Negroponte realized the subject of his new film.

Keep ReadingShow less
documentaries

Fresh perspectives in Norfolk Library film series

Fresh perspectives in Norfolk Library film series

Diego Ongaro

Photo submitted

Parisian filmmaker Diego Ongaro, who has been living in Norfolk for the past 20 years, has composed a collection of films for viewing based on his unique taste.

The series, titled “Visions of Europe,” began over the winter at the Norfolk Library with a focus on under-the-radar contemporary films with unique voices, highlighting the creative richness and vitality of the European film landscape.

Keep ReadingShow less
norfolk library

New ground to cover and plenty of groundcover

New ground to cover and plenty of groundcover

Young native pachysandra from Lindera Nursery shows a variety of color and delicate flowers.

Dee Salomon

It is still too early to sow seeds outside, except for peas, both the edible and floral kind. I have transplanted a few shrubs and a dogwood tree that was root pruned in the fall. I have also moved a few hellebores that seeded in the near woods back into their garden beds near the house; they seem not to mind the few frosty mornings we have recently had. In years past I would have been cleaning up the plant beds but I now know better and will wait at least six weeks more. I have instead found the most perfect time-consuming activity for early spring: teasing out Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle and myrtle, from the ground in places it was never meant to be.

Planting the stuff in the first place is my biggest ever garden regret. It was recommended to me as a groundcover that would hold together a hillside, bare after a removal of invasive plants save for a dozen or so trees. And here we are, twelve years later; there is vinca everywhere. It blankets the hillside and has crept over the top into the woods. It has made its way left and right. I am convinced that vinca is the plastic of the plant world. The stuff won’t die. (The name Vinca comes from the Latin ‘vincire’ which means ‘to bind or fetter.’) Last year I pulled a bunch and left it strewn on the roof of the root cellar for 6 months and the leaves were still green.

Keep ReadingShow less
the ungardener

Matza Lasagne by 'The Cook and the Rabbi'

Matza Lasagne by 'The Cook and the Rabbi'

Culinary craftsmanship intersects with spiritual insights in the wonderfully collaborative book, “The Cook and the Rabbi.” On April 14 at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck (6422 Montgomery Street), the cook, Susan Simon, and the rabbi, Zoe B. Zak, will lead a conversation about food, tradition, holidays, resilience and what to cook this Passover.

Passover, marked by the traditional seder meal, holds profound significance within Jewish culture and for many carries extra meaning this year at a time of great conflict. The word seder, meaning “order” in Hebrew, unfolds in a 15-step progression intertwining prayers, blessings, stories, and songs that narrate the ancient saga of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery. It’s a narrative that has endured for over two millennia, evolving with time yet retaining its essence, a theme echoed beautifully in “The Cook and the Rabbi.”

Keep ReadingShow less
books