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By Dr. Robert Pellicone & Michael Horton

MCAS AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Our school system, if it is to be effective, must meet commonwealth and federal mandates while creating an environment that fosters and supports individual learners. In the Nantucket Public Schools we strive to help each of our students attain his/her best academic performance in the core learning areas as set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Education.

The core learning areas, also known as frameworks, are tested each year through the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System). These tests were created to help schools and parents track students' progress from Grade 3 to Grade 10. They were designed to assess the curriculum covered at each grade level. The tests are working. This is evident by the increasing percentage of Nantucket students who score proficient or higher at their grade level.

Our teachers are doing a good job; by the time our students reach 10th grade they are scoring well. This is due to years of exposure to best practices used in the classroom, a strong integrated curriculum, and lots of practice and guidance. Our scores are improving, but there is still a ways to go as the commonwealth raises the CPI (Comprehensive Performance Index) score for AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) every two years. The goal is to have 100 percent of all students at all grade levels scoring proficient or above on the MCAS by the year 2014.

The MCAS annual results highlight the strengths and identify the weaknesses that exist in the Nantucket Public Schools' curriculum. Our teachers are data mining past tests and using that information to devise strategies that will help those students who require help. We are working hard, while using approved commonwealth guidelines, to help all of our students to succeed.

An example of the teamwork that helps us improve student performance on the MCAS is the science curriculum maps that were written last year by our faculty. This year, through the collaboration and cooperation of all our science teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, we are writing new units and implementing them in the classroom. The hope is that as science comprehension improves, the MCAS scores in science will subsequently improve as well. The test results have also shown us that the writing of open response answers is a problem that is showing up through all the grades. After examination of current practices and with faculty input we will address this area as well.

MCAS and the No Child Left Behind Act are here to stay, even if they are modified by Congress. They ensure that every student who graduates has met, or performed better than, the standard. Our parents and students deserve that guarantee. The annual results help us monitor our students' progress as they move from grade to grade and they ultimately help us reflect on our curriculum and the quality of instruction we are providing. Overall, we are proud of our students. Our current juniors scored extremely well last year as sophomores. It is important that our younger students look ahead and improve their performance each year to prepare for success in high

school and beyond. I - Dr. Robert Pellicone is Superintendent

of Nantucket Public Schools

- Michael Horton is the schools'

Administrative Intern

Note: Parents should have received their students' individual MCAS results this past week. In addition to the accompanying green pamphlet that explains the results and how to interpret them, parents can log onto www.doe.mass.edu to access more information.