MVRCS MCAS Summary 2003-2004 - VERY Different Than 2009-2010

After discovering the manner in which MVRCS does its analysis of MCAS scores within its current Annual Reports and how they rate in comparison to the sending districts, we thought we'd see if that is how they have always done it (as it didn't seem familiar). If you go to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website at Mass DESE Main Page, in the upper left hand corner is a 'Search' tool to search the entire site. We conducted a search for 'Mystic Valley Regional Charter School' and were able to see all of the past Annual Reports that MVRCS has filed with the DESE (some pretty interesting reading we must say). We didn't go through all of them but for the 2003-2004 Annual Report MVRCS must have just done better as a whole when compared to sending districts as they didn't do any complex weighted analysis. We found the following information within the report (the report actually included MCAS results but didn't transfer clearly) and it is very different than the manner in which MVRCS now presents MCAS scores. We're guessing that it's because they are no longer superior to all of the sending districts. It would as though many of the sending districts have made some strides in MCAS testing whereas it seems MVRCS is having difficulty maintaining their prior results and/or is showing signs of bigger issues within their MCAS scores. In either case, we found the change in methodology and approach interesting and worth sharing.

From: MVRCS 2004 Annual Report Filed w/ DESE (MCAS Analysis and Discussion begins on page 17)

Method of Assessment
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)
Summary of Results
Results from the MCAS indicate that 92 % of fourth graders scored in the categories of Advanced, Proficient and Needs Improvement on the English Language Arts Component while 87% of fourth graders met the same criteria for Mathematics. Third grade reading scores reflected a rate of 96% of students falling into the categories outlined above. For sixth grade Math, 70% of the students achieved scores that fell into the categories of Advanced, Proficient and Needs Improvement. Ninety eight percent of 7th graders reached the target categories for Language Arts. For eighth grade Math, 65% of the students reached the target areas.

Grade 3 – READING
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN COMPARISON WITH STATE AND MAJOR SENDING-DISTRICTS

Grade 5- Science and
The MVRCS seventh grade class put an exceptional effort forth. Statewide results revealed that the MVRCS class of 2008 achieved a ranking of 21st in the state in a field of 444 school districts. A top 5% state ranking is quite unique for the local region of cities that MVRCS is located in. The percentage of 7th grade students that successfully passed the Language Arts assessment was 98%. MVRCS students that reached the advanced level nearly doubled the state average. Fifteen percent of MVRCS students reached the advanced level as compared to 8% for the state average. The students that reached the proficient range numbered 76%. Fifty seven percent of students reached this level of achievement statewide.
MVRCS students achieved in a competitive fashion when compared to students from around the state and major sending-districts. The most significant outcomes are the positive movements MVRCS students made out of warning categories when compared to their counterparts from around the state and from the major sending-districts. MVRCS students are advancing toward higher scores at a faster rate than the other students analyzed. The same can be said when comparing positive increases in the amount of students reaching the proficient or advanced categories. MVRCS students made a larger increase over the previous year than the state as a whole and the sending-districts. For example, fourth grade students receiving warning categories in Math fell from 24% to 13%. None of the major sending-districts’ results or the statewide results reflected this dramatic of a movement.
When considering students that received a passing score by reaching either the needs improvement, proficient or advanced categories, MVRCS students also competed strongly when compared to students from the major sending-districts and to students from around the state. Third grade results for Reading showed that MVRCS had the lowest percentage of students in the warning category. Fourth grade results for Math showed that MVRCS had the second lowest percentage of students in the warning category. In fourth grade Language Arts, MVRCS students recorded the fourth lowest percentage. In sixth grade Math, the students recorded the second lowest percentage in the warning category. For seventh grade Language Arts, scores reflected a tie with Melrose for the lowest percentage. In eighth grade Math, the students recorded the third lowest percentage of scores in the warning category. In eighth grade Language Arts, student scores reflected the second lowest percentage of scores in the warning category when compared to the major sending-districts.
2003 MCAS Highlights
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Seventh grade students ranked 21st in a field of 444 districts in English/Language Arts
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98% of seventh grade students received a passing score
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96% of third grade students received passing scores in Reading
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Fourth grade Math scores reflected all-time highs in advanced and proficient categories
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Fourth grade Math scores that fell into the warning category showed a decrease of 9% from the previous year
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92% of fourth grade students received passing scores in Language Arts

A higher percentage of MVRCS eighth grade students received passing scores in Math and History than their counterparts around the state