ConnCAN in the News

Some Hope on Closing the Achievement Gap in Stamford
By Chris Gosier, Stamford Advocate, August 20, 2007

The achievement gap between groups of public school students persists, but it has changed in ways that offer hope, according to the latest Connecticut Mastery Test scores.Marc Porter Magee, spokesman for ConnCAN, a nonprofit advocacy group, said he's encouraged by the example of Scofield Magnet Middle School, a high-achieving school that also has a small achievement gap. Scores of minorities at high-achieving schools often mirror the lower scores of those groups districtwide, he said.

Teachers and culture at a school make a big difference, Magee said.

"A lot of these schools have a school culture that's about no excuses," he said. "It's amazing the power that that kind of culture can have. Some teachers are just really good at catching kids up."



News Articles

Achievement Gap Strategy Tops School Board Agenda
By Alexandra Fenwick, Stamford Advocate, August 20, 2007

NORWALK - The Board of Education will tackle a busy back-to-school agenda tomorrow at its last meeting before classes begin Aug. 29.The biggest item on the agenda is a presentation by Superintendent Salvatore Corda on the district's Instructional Plan - the blueprint for closing the achievement gap between white and minority students, board Chairwoman Jody Bishop-Pullan said.

The plan, adopted in 2001, is "always evolving," she said. It identifies goals such as emphasizing language arts and math, and focusing on the 25 percent lowest-performing students.



Law Helps Fill Magnet School Seats
By Eileen FitzGerald, Danbury News Times, August 20, 2007

A new state law will allow magnet schools to enroll students directly once participating school districts fill the seats they wanted.

Until now, local boards of education had to agree to enroll students in magnet schools, which are schools with themes meant to bring together students from various communities to reduce racial isolation.

The state still is working out the details of the new law, which took effect July 1.

"What the law is doing is taking the option of attending the magnet school and giving it to the parents," said William Magnotta, the state's program manager for the magnet schools.


Schools Can Manage Loss of Aides
By Chris Gosier, Stamford Advocate, August 15, 2007

STAMFORD - Superintendent Joshua Starr laid out educational assistant staffing figures for the coming school year yesterday, telling the Board of Education that staff cuts in that area will not hurt instruction.The district will have 28 fewer special-needs educational assistants this fall, under current projections, because of various fiscal pressures.
Administrators have found areas where the schedule could be tightened up so the assistants' time could be used more efficiently, he said. or instance, some assistants were assigned to a student for two hours a day but not for the remaining four hours in their workday.



ACT Scores Continue Modest Upward Trend for Class of 2007
By Justin Pope, Wilton Villager, August 15, 2007

The high school class of 2007 posted a modest increase on the ACT college entrance exam, extending the test's upward scoring trend and showing improved levels of preparation for college.

Still, the results highlight the persistent gap between the preparation levels of high school graduates and the skills they need to do well in college. Only 23 percent of test-takers met a benchmark score that indicates readiness in a range of introductory, core college courses.

The national average ACT composite score rose from 21.1 last year to 21.2 _ on a scale of 1 to 36 _ extending its recent pattern of slight but noticeable increases.

The ACT says one-year trends are not necessarily meaningful, but that the average scoring increase of 0.4 points since 2003 is significant, considering 1.3 million of this year's high school graduates took the test.



Fairfield Oks Plan to Shift Students
By Andrew Brophy, Connecticut Post, August 14, 2007

FAIRFIELD — The Board of Education voted 6-2 Tuesday night to approve a voluntary plan that is designed to reduce the number of minority students at McKinley School.

"I think Fairfielders are ready for a plan based on choice. I think this is a long time coming," said school board Chairman Dave Weber.

All McKinley parents will be given the choice of sending their children to another elementary school in September. If more than 25 children want to leave McKinley, a lottery will be held to select 25.



Parents Not Happy With Options Given by Hamden School
By Annie Rourke, WTNH, August 14, 2007

Hamden (WTNH) _ A charter school is trying to re-emerge with a new, clean image but its choice for a new school site is being marred once again by controversy.
Many parents News Channel 8 spoke to simply hadn't made up their minds about whether they want to continue to send their kids to the Highville Charter School in Hamden. The board needs 250 students to be registered in order to get funding from the state.

"We have to get current students registered and anyone who wants to come registered or we will not have our charter renewed," says Chip Croft of Highville Charter School.

ConnCAN in the News

Analysis contends state achievement gap remains
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, August 9, 2007

NEW HAVEN — The latest analysis of Connecticut’s mastery test scores shows the education achievement gap between urban and suburban schools has not budged over the past two years.

The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, a nonprofit education advocacy and research agency, released its analysis last month which showed the average gap has stagnated between white and black students at 38.9 percent, and at 39.1 percent between white and Hispanic students. Math scores for Hispanic eighth-graders were the second lowest in the United States, said Marc Porter Magee, the agency’s research director.

“We have not made our best efforts,” Magee said. “The biggest problem is that we have great schools, but we don’t allow them to expand,” he said, in reference to the state’s restrictions on charter school growth. He also said it’s time for Connecticut’s non-performing schools to either improve or be shut down. “One of the hardest things to do is shut down a school that is not performing,” Magee added. The coalition has also been pushing hard for universal highquality preschool for urban children.

Charter School Groups Ups The Ante On Scores
By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, August 7, 2007

NEW HAVEN — City charter schools run by Achievement First, including the trail-blazing Amistad Academy, again beat many of their own standardized scores with a majority of students reaching or exceeding state averages on the 2007 Connecticut Mastery Tests.

Amistad eighth-graders received top scores in math in the New Haven district, but took second place to Worthington Hooker School in reading and writing, according to Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, an education research and advocacy nonprofit agency.However, Amistad students are nearly all from low-income households, compared with only 16 percent of students at Worthington Hooker.

In math, students showed massive progress over their own scores last year: 73 percent of the 2007 eighth-graders at Amistad scored at goal, compared to 40 percent in 2006 when they were seventh-graders.

"This is another year in which Achievement First Schools have been consistent in doubling the number of students at state goal from district levels," said Marc Porter Magee, the coalition's research director.

Opinions and Editorials

CMT scores show areas of concern
Editorial, Connecticut Post, August 2, 2007

Although there's no direct correlation, there is a sense of irony that in a year when the General Assembly approved a large infusion of new state aid to communities for public education, the results of the 2007 Connecticut Mastery Test showed a continued decline in student reading scores. All that new state aid definitely is needed.

State education officials are worried by the results of the latest CMT because the percentage of students in the state meeting goal and proficiency levels in reading remained flat or decreased. There was statewide improvement, however, in writing and math, especially in some grades with scores up 5 percentage points.

All public school students in grades three through eight must take the CMT tests each spring and they offer a snapshot of the health of public education in the state.

The CMT is just one barometer for measuring progress by students, but it is a key gauge on how schools are meeting the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

No doubt, this year's CMT results will lead to calls from some quarters that increased state funding is not the solution to improving student skills and narrowing the widening achievement gap between urban and suburban school districts and minority and non-minority students.

We don't buy that argument. Poor urban centers such as Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford remain strapped for revenues and have their ability to spend on education limited by their tax bases.

A Vote for “No Child”
Washington Post, 08/07/07

Blaming No Child Left Behind for failures of public education seems to be in vogue these days. The Bush administration act, which mandates measurement of public school performance, is a favorite whipping boy of interest groups and the politicians who cater to them. So it was refreshing to hear a leading liberal Democrat speak passionately about his commitment to this landmark law. More important was the promise by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who heads the House education committee, to fight for the bill's reauthorization this year.

Mr. Miller's leadership, and that of Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate, will be key if the gains of No Child Left Behind are to be sustained and extended. In a speech last week, Mr. Miller made clear his intention to move a bill next month. If Congress doesn't act this year, prospects will dim as the law, already under attack from both right and left, bogs down in presidential politics. The law probably would continue under an automatic one-year extension, but lost would be the chance to make improvements essential to its long-term viability.

News Articles

Elementary School May Be Closed
By Robert Frahm, Hartford Courant, August 8, 2007

Barnard-Brown School in downtown Hartford would close as an elementary school next year and undergo renovations as the new site for Capital Preparatory Magnet School under a recommendation announced Tuesday.

A Hartford school board committee selected Barnard-Brown in part because of its proximity to Capital Community College, where Capital Preparatory shares space in the former G. Fox department store, a downtown landmark at 950 Main St.

Barnard-Brown, at 1304 Main St., is within walking distance of the college and would allow Capital Preparatory to maintain its relationship with the community college, including an arrangement under which Capital Preparatory's students can take college-level courses.

Clouet Vows To Improve NL's CMT Reading Scores
By Jenna Cho, New London Day, August 9, 2007

New London — New London public schools have seen improvements in Connecticut Mastery Test results in math and writing, but reading scores have remained flat over the past seven years.

It's something the district is intent on changing.

“We're not happy with the results, and we're not just sitting around saying, 'Oh, my God, the ship is sinking,'” Superintendent of Schools Christopher Clouet said.

He said the school district has a plan. Last year, the district implemented changes to the reading curriculum that included aligning all the elementary schools' reading curriculums into one uniform reading program for kindergarten through third grade and another for fourth and fifth grades.

The new curriculums are still getting their “sea legs,” Clouet said, and need time to yield results.

Dodd proposes free community college education for every American
Norwich Bulletin, August 9, 2007

U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said Wednesday that there can be no higher priority in America today than insuring that every American has the best educational opportunities without worrying about the cost.

Dodd, visiting Manchester Community Technical College in New Hampshire, unveiled a portion of his education proposal, calling for increase student aid - and free college tuition at community colleges across the country.

Dodd will unveil the remaining portion of his sweeping education proposal, those affecting kindergarten through high school, in a speech to the New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Asociation tomorrow.

Dodd is making his 16th visit to the Granite State since declaring his candidacy for the presidency in November. The Manchester stop was the first on a four-day swing through the state.