In 2011, 39% of Massachusetts third graders scored below proficient in reading, compared with 37% in 2010, according to MCAS results released this afternoon by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Performance has remained stagnant since 2001. And the achievement gap widened for African-American, Latino and low-income children. Among the ethnic and racial [...]
Archive for the ‘Assessments’ Category
No Improvement in MA Third Grade Reading
Posted in Assessments, Reading proficiency on September 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Ready for School in Maryland
Posted in Assessments on August 4, 2011 | 3 Comments »
A new study from Maryland reports marked increases in kindergarten readiness over the past decade, with more than four-fifths of children “fully ready” for school, up from fewer than a half in 2001-02. The statewide Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) assesses children’s school readiness in seven domains: language and literacy, mathematical thinking, physical development, [...]
The State of Kindergarten Assessments in the States
Posted in Assessments, Early Learning Challenge, Federal on July 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
States applying for funds from the $500 million federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge must address how they assess – or plan to assess – children at entry to kindergarten, according to draft criteria released earlier this month. For a look at how states conduct kindergarten assessments, check out the August 2010 [...]
Why and How Should We Assess Young Children?
Posted in Assessments, Reading proficiency on February 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In Massachusetts, the third grade MCAS test is the first statewide assessment of children’s progress. Yet we know that the path to mastering reading by the end of third grade begins at birth. In a column in the Ashland Tab, Patricia White, director of the Ashland Preschool Program, makes the case for developmentally appropriate assessments [...]
Study Examines Ingredients of Formative Assessments
Posted in Assessments on January 18, 2011 | 3 Comments »
At a time when much attention is focused on assessments of children’s learning, a report prepared for the Council of Chief State School Officers looks at formative assessments, which, as the executive director of the council writes in his forward, “is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust [...]
Frameworks Include Pre-K and Common Core Standards
Posted in Assessments, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pre-K to 3, Standards and curriculum on December 22, 2010 | 3 Comments »
It’s official. Massachusetts has new curriculum frameworks that include pre-kindergarten and incorporate the Common Core State Standards approved in July. The final step came yesterday, when the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the pre-k standards as part of broader frameworks in English language arts and mathematics. Last week, the Board of Early [...]
WA Pilots Kindergarten Readiness Assessment
Posted in Assessments on October 25, 2010 | 2 Comments »
In Massachusetts, the third grade MCAS administered every spring is the first statewide assessment of children’s educational progress. By then, as research clearly demonstrates, students who lag in reading will have a hard time ever catching up. Developmentally appropriate assessments of younger children would not only give us a snapshot of statewide progress but would [...]
Urban Districts Show Gains on Third Grade Reading MCAS
Posted in Achievement gap, Assessments, Reading proficiency on September 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The school and district 2010 MCAS scores were released this afternoon, and there’s encouraging news from the 10 urban commissioner’s districts in Massachusetts. Third grade reading scores are up in all 10 districts – Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester. The achievement gap statewide narrowed, but remains large. [...]
MCAS Gains Include Third Grade Reading
Posted in Achievement gap, Assessments, Reading proficiency on September 7, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Governor Patrick announced statewide 2010 MCAS results earlier today, and the news was good. The number of 10th graders scoring proficient or above in both English and math has almost doubled since passing the MCAS became a graduation requirement in 2003. More than half of seventh and eighth graders scored proficient or above in math. [...]
States Vary in School Readiness Assessments
Posted in Assessments, Research on July 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Every state in the union has established early learning guidelines (ELG) that define what skills and knowledge the three million children across the country who enroll each year in a public school kindergarten should have when they walk through the classroom door, according to a new Child Trends brief. Of the 29 states that assess [...]
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Eye on Early Education focuses on the twin goals of ensuring that Massachusetts children have access to high-quality early education and become proficient readers by the end of third grade. CHECK US OUT
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