Conference 7.286::maynard

    Can anyone say to what the "State Average" line is comparing? 
    
    Jim

    The Boston Sunday Globe West Weekly section has a headline article
    about the MHS test scores.  It is an excellent article and worth
    the reading.
    
    Frank

The "state average" is not really a very revealing figure. The expectations
for these tests are scaled by "kind of community". Since Acton/Boxboro and
Maynard are in different KOC classes a comparison of the nature in .0 is
really apples and oranges. 

Maynard is classed as an "Urbanized Center" while Acton/Boxboro falls under
"Economically developed suburbs".

This sets different "norms" for each system. The scaled average scores for
Maynard's class are:

reading:	1252
Mathematics:	1249
Science:	1245
Social Studies:	1239

For A/B they're:

reading:	1384
Math:		1389
Science:	1383
Social Studies:	1380

Also the report is broken down by subject matter so I really question the
percentages in .0. I would like to know how the author arrived at his averages
since there is no single average. There are seperate averages by KOC and 
subject. 

"Urbanized center"?   I'd love to see the definitions of the 
categories.     Urbanized is just not something I think of when I 
think of Maynard.   

Re. .0, "Numbers don't lie."

But they sure can be made to fool around and dance a lot! I think that everyone
realizes that by now, and our faith in numbers are directly proportional to how
well they support "our side" of any issue.

I am not surprized by the information in .3.

 john

    Not sure I understand all this.  
    
    Re: .3
    
    Why did yesterday's Globe article say that Maynard placed 2nd in the
    state behind Weston?  If the numbers are skewed as you say, why even
    mention the two towns in the same sentence?
    
    					Steve

I've been looking at these reports for the last 3 years and they're still a
real pain to figure out. If you're a reporter who doesn't have a vested interest
or experience with these things you could certainly misinterpret them.

RE: definitions - I don't have them in front of me but if I can find them in
my files I'll try to enter them. They have more to do with demographics like
per capita income than with population or geography. 

KOC - Urbanized centers - others include Boston, Chelsea, Clinton, Gloucester,
Leominster, Milford, Revere, Somerville, Southbridge, Westfield, Worcester.

KOC - Economically developed suburbs - others include Ashland, Avon, Beverly,
Brookline, Concord, Framingham, Hudson, Lexington, Marlborough, Natick, 
Shrewsbury, Wellesley, Westwood.


Weston isn't in either. It's a "residential suburb". Residential suburbs have 
the highest scaled scores. 

I haven't read the articles in the Beacon or the Globe, does it explain in
details how the state-wide proficiency test is administered?  I am NOT siding
with Maynard or Acton-Boxborough, but I question the validity of this kind of
test for comparison purposes.  The main question I have is whether the result
of this test will affect the student's grade or academic standing.  Is there
any incentive for a student taking this test to do well and come well-prepared?
If there is, then disregard this post, but if not, then nobody will take the
test seriously and that means the result cannot be taken seriously, either.

Numbers are like bikinis, what they reveal is interesting, but what they don't
is vital.  This saying sums it up.

-santa

The tests are used by administrators to assess curriculum weakness. While the
public reads the overall skewed and errant figures in the papers the schools
get subject matter breakdowns that point to holes in curriculum progress. Then
it's their job to go off and find out whether there something wrong with what's
being taught or the teacher. 

Example = grade 12 social studies

1. Historical Environment
	A) pre-1865 U.S. history
	B) post-1865  "    "
	C) Contemporary scene
	D) Prehistory/classic civilizations
	E) middle ages (500-1600 AD)
	F) Mod. World History (Ren. to 1900)
	G) 20th Century world history

2. Political environment
	A)Principles of government
	B)Components "    "    "
	C)Processes  "    "    "
	D)Citizenship

3. Physical Environment
	A)Physical Geography
	B)Human Geography

4. Economic environment

5. Sociocultural environment
	A)social evnironment
	B)multicultural environment

6. Process skills
	A) Map skills
	B) Graphic representation
	C) Research skills

7. Clarifying & Evaluation
	A)Analysis
	B)evaluation

For the life of me, I can't figure out what some people are crowing about
(Mr. Curry's letter is probably the best example of an attitude and
perception of the situation that I just can't fathom).

My only good feeling about this whole report is that I know that the
administrators and faculty pretty much know how to interpret these numbers
and are generally constraining their comments to their true worth (both the
good numbers and the bad ones).


Sigh!

- dave

    If Mike Gilbert is correct that you can't go by the scores
    (particularly if your school system isn't listed), then perhaps
    we should look at the comments in the Globe article by Dept of
    Education Spokeswoman Marie Fricker:
    
    "....officials were so impressed with Maynard's performance that
    they would probably be examining the curriculum closely over the
    next few months and suggest its use by school systems whose 12th
    graders did poorly on the state tests."
    
    "'If this success comes from teaching a lot of essay and cricital
    thinking skills, then that's great because that's what we've been
    hoping school districts do' Fricker said.  'If they are teaching
    skills that are working this well, then Maynard could become a model 
    for other communities.'"
    
    I didn't read in that any reference to Urbanized Centers or 
    Economically Developed Centers.  What I read was that Maynard has
    done a very good job and that other school districts, whether they
    be Chelsea, Acton, Holliston, or Hopkinton, could learn from the
    test results in Maynard, and maybe improve their curriculum so that
    they could get a better rating next year.  Skewed or not, I didn't
    see either Acton or Holliston on the top ten list.
    
    Frank

These are Mass. Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) scores.

I agree with Mike in .3, that discussion of averages is not helpful.  So
let's forget averages, especially from the newspapers.

The business about whether Maynard is an "Urbanized Center" or whatever can be
ignored.  As far as anything being scaled or skewed, the only skewing is being
done to the averages, depending on the Kind Of Community (KOC) comparison. 

The valid comparison is to take the percentage scores from different towns and
stack them up next to one another: no averages, no Kind Of Community stuff. 

When you do this, Maynard High's 12th grade is tied for second in the state,
for the areas tested.

Now, what's being tested, anyway?

.12> The tests are used by administrators to assess curriculum weakness. 

The tests assume a kind of idealized curriculum; i. e., what the state thinks
kids of a particular age should know and how they should be able to think. 

.12> the schools get subject matter breakdowns that point to holes in
.12> curriculum progress. Then it's their job to go off and find out whether
.12> there something wrong with what's being taught or the teacher. 

Here's where the High School was dynamite.  In many cases in the detailed
results, the MHS 12th grade scored 1600, a perfect score.  Most scores were
in the 1500 range.

This is why Frank could quote the Department of Education in .11, saying that
Maynard's curriculum could be a model for other communities. 


The scores are divided into levels, for example for the math test:
(From the "MEAP Summary of Test Results for Math")

Level 1: "... They recognize the correct solution to simple work problems that
involve fairly straightforward computation, but demonstrate little or no
understanding of the mathematical concepts involved...." 

Level 2: "... Students at this level are adept at using basic operations on 
whole numbers, integers, and fractions.  ... When presented with open-ended 
questions that require more than recognition, however, these students 
demonstrate a minimal understanding of the tasks and an incomplete 
understanding of the concepts involved..."

Level 3: "Students at this level demonstrate that they understand basic 
mathematical concepts and appear to have the "sense" of most problems.  
...While their problem solving may not be complete or fully explained, they do 
show the ability to apply mathematical skills, reason mathematically, and work 
in the abstract."

Level 4: "Students at this level demonstrate a thorough understanding of 
mathematical concepts and the ability to apply these concepts to rigorous 
problems. ...Their responses to open-ended questions display a rich and 
elegant use of mathematical terminology and well-developed powers of 
reasoning."

The tables show the percentage of students who scored at each level 
of comprehension/mastery of the curriculum.  

Here are some examples of 12th grade percentage scores, with some levels merged
for simplicity: 

Town		%< 1	% Below Level 3		% At Level 3 or 4

MAYNARD		2%		46%			54%
Acton-Boxboro	7%		57%			43%
Holliston	10%		77%			33%
Hopkinton	8%		60%			40%
Hudson		14%		71%			29%
Lincoln-Sudbury	4%		54%			46%
Littleton	4%		58%			42%
Nashoba		3%		53%			47%

What is especially interesting here is that each of these communities except 
for Maynard have more than 50% of last year's graduating class scoring below 
level 3, the "understanding the curriculum level".  I'm also impressed with 
the fact that Maynard has the lowest percentage of students scoring below 
level 1.  

Now, were Maynard's scores an anomaly?  Were these just a better than usual
group of kids, or a lucky day?  Consider the history of the MHS scores:

		    1988		1990		    1992
SUBJECT	     Maynard  St. Avg.	 Maynard  St. Avg.	Maynard  St. Avg.

Reading:	1320	1300	   1370	  1300		1520	1320
Math:		1400	1300	   1340	  1300		1500	1320
Science:	1330	1300	   1360	  1300		1480	1320
Social Studies:	1370	1300	   1330	  1300		1460	1310

Yeah, I know I wasn't going to talk about averages, but those I listed
are from the MEAP document from that year.  Just use them as a general
indication.

The figures show a good trend.  My daughter's in 7th grade now; I'm glad she
will be going to a first rate high school. 

-Steve

I don't know where you got your figures but I'm looking at the actual report 
for Holliston and your figures are wrong.

Holliston Mathematics scores

< level 1	8%
  level 1	25%
  level 2	31%
  level 3	26%
  level 4	10%

The other piece that needs to be included in looking at the percentages is the
percentage/number of special needs and bilingual kids taking this test. Systems
that have mainstreamed SPED and bilingual programs tend to have larger numbers
of these kids taking the exam. One thing I've found interesting as well is
the dramatic improvement over the last set of scores of those communities
who lost large numbers of kids to school choice. Is this an artificial inflation
due to the fact that it was parents of marginal students who transfered?  Is it
true that administrators in some communities encouraged their "problem" students
to go elsewhere? Could it be a result of a renewed commitment? Or, as is more
likely, a combination of all.

Here are Holliston's scores:

		1988	1990	1992

Reading:	1420	1440	1360	
Math:		1430	1490	1420
Science:	1460	1450	1400
Social Studies: 1420	1440	1350

What can I derive from the data presented? We need to look at curriculum in
Modern world history. However we scored highly in the skills areas so it appears
to be the curriculum and presentation of data. We'll know more after we've
studied it. In science we need to look at areas of Earth/physical science
such as oceanography. In Math our seniors had a problem with statistics. In
reading they did poorly in summarizing and organization. Are we doing it and 
how do you tell? Well, alot of what these kids blew we could cull from previous
test results. Then we should be able to look at the grade 8 level in these areas
and see some indications of improvement. Example: at grade 12 the score in 20th 
century world history was 1190. that's 110 points below the state average. At
grade 8 though we can see some curriculum improvement in world history as they
scored 60 points above the state average. So the grade 12 figures show where 
there may be some weakness in curriculum at the high school level. You also 
need to look at the grade 8 figures with an eye towards particular weaknesses
in a given class. Is there some bias toward individual class performance? Of
course. But that's also why those who read these things say that a swing of
less than 50 points is statistically unimportant.

My whole point here is that one set of scores does not make one school 
system better than another. Maynard should rightly be proud of the improvement
in it's scores but should also examine closely why these scores improved so
dramatically. Just as others will examine why theirs didn't :-)

    I'd like to highlight one of .13's statements here for all to re-read:
    
    "One thing I've found interesting as well is the dramatic inprovement 
    over the last set of scores of those communities who lost large numbers
    of kids to school choice.  Is this an artifical inflation due to the 
    fact that it was parents of marginal students who transferred?  Is it
    true that administrators in some communities encouraged their "problem"
    students to go elsewhere?  Could it be a result of renewed commitment?
    Or, as is more likely, a combination of both?."
    
    
    Wow, what a statement!  I feel so bad that Maynard pawned all their
    lunkheads off on the Acton school system.........
    
    Mike, if you were from Acton and made that statement, my reply would
    be "fine, send the 100 kids back, and don't forget to include the
    $600,000. in school choice funding that went with them".       
                                                           
    Frank                                            

Frank,
	I asked the question becuase it is the perception among both citizens
and educators that it has happened. In fact, there is more than anecdotal
evidence that some principals actually did encourage certain types of kids
to leave their school system. I haven't heard anything about this happening
in Maynard and I have the utmost respect for the educators I know there. 

	I was told last night by two people who should know that the state 
DOE has apologized to the testing company for misinterpreting the test results
but refuses to retract the public statements it has made about the results. 

Frank,
	In addition I feel you took my statement out of context. The whole point
of my replies was the DOE has hyped these figures incorrectly and school
systems need to examine within their own context why the results came out
the way they did for their system compared within their system not to other
systems.

This has been an interesting note....As a moderator of this notes conference, 
I don't normally get involved with active comments...But this reply is as a 
parent of a student in the Maynard School system.....Maybe I'm reading things 
into the comments.  It almost appears that some replies are comparing school 
systems based on the MEAP scores...........I am under the impression that 
these scores compare the curriculum of the schools based on 4th grade, 
8th grade and 12th grade test results.  The tests, again as I understand it, 
measure retention of the "taught" materials (curriculum)????????  To me it 
would be interesting and educational to find out why the retention levels of 
students of a school  or school system was high and to share that 
information/success with other systems.

The test results in my mind also afford a tracking mechanism looking at trends 
of individual schools.  For example, although the Maynard High School scores 
have been on the rise, the scores for Maynard's Green Meadow have been 
declining, and the Fowler Middle School have been all over the chart.  Draw 
your own conclusions form the data.

In closing, if you take a look at the results as a whole, it basically says 
that we in the U.S. need to be focusing more attention on the education 
systems that are educating America.  (My patriotic statement for the day.)


just my $ 0.02s worth.


Julian

The MHS administration, faculty and students have every right to feel proud
(mixed with the right kind of humility) of the MEAP test scores.

I wondered about the scores when they were published.  I had forgotten about
the KOC business.  Thanks, Mike.   That doesn't "explain" everything, but I 
hope it makes people more cautious about making sweeping generalizations.

The statistic about improved scores from schools which have lost students to 
choice should be treated even more carefully.  Last year's senior class did 
NOT participate in any significant numbers in choice.  My older daughter 
elected to finish out at MHS last year rather than switch to ABRHS for her 
senior year (therby being one of the students who produced the statistic 
this note talks about).

The next time I see an AB administrator or school-committee member, I'll ask 
them some tough questions.  But that does not change at all the satisfaction 
my wife, both daughters and I feel about my younger daughter's going to 
ABRHS.

We wanted greater challenge and opportunity for her; she has found it in 
more ways than we expected and she loves it.  She is far better off at ABRHS 
than she would be at MHS.  That is NOT a negative statement about MHS; I 
have great respect for the people of MHS.

There are probably students at ABRHS who would be happier/more productive at
MHS. 

Rather than making statements like those that appeared in letters to the
editor in the Beacon, people should be examining what factors help (or
hinder) which students and try to find ways to get those students into the
right environment for each one. 

>people should be examining what factors help (or
>hinder) which students and try to find ways to get those students into the
>right environment for each one. 

Exactly.  

The decision of the appropriate high school for your kid, or anyone else's is
much like the college decision. For example, is it better to go to a school of,
say 40,000 students like the University of Texas, where they have superb
facilities, but a shy kid could get lost, or do you send your child to, say, a
little Ivy school without the giant computers, but with a lot of individual
attention.  Both have good faculty; both get good results. 

It depends on the kid's interests and personality, including social factors.

I see two problems in the school decision:

1) Many parents do not look at what really best for their child.  They look
at something outward and obvious, like one school test score or award, or the
success of a sports team, or which town has a shiny new school, instead of
finding out the whole story and really thinking what it's going to be like for
their child. 

John Comella's advice hits the nail on the head in this regard.

2) School Choice funding as it stands is predatory.  The law encourages one
school to predate on another like a shark.  This is supposed to foster
competition and improve the lot of all the kids, which is ludicrous.  This can
only be fixed by the Legislature, who got us into this mess. 

I was overjoyed at the MHS test scores because it helps even the equation
between the Acton and Maynard high schools.  Anyone who acted on insufficient
information and thought that Maynard was highly deficient should have been
startled into realizing that it is not such a one-sided decision.  There is
good education, and unique opportunities in both systems.

-Steve

I think that the scores are great and that they reflect serious 
commitment to changes which have been made (based on the scores) over 
the years.   I think that the people involved with these changes 
should be proud.    

I'd like to make an observer's statement.    I do not presently have 
children so I'm not hotly in the debate of where to send them to school.

From what I read...  We lost a lot of kids the first year to choice.  
From what I understand, we lost a lot more kids this year, and it
only stopped because Acton hit its cap or there would have been more.  
(correct me if I'm wrong)

I guess personally I don't believe that this set of good scores is 
going to stop people wanting to send their kids elsewhere or bring 
back all of those who left.    Whatever perception or reality made 
them leave will likely not be changed by one set of scores.  I worry 
what will happen to the town's schools system if we lose too many kids 
to run it effectively.    

So as a resident, I'm thrilled that we did so well, I think it is 
great for the kids and for the town.    But I worry that before we can 
have sustaining sets of scores over the years to prove that this was
not an anomaly, what happens if we lose so many kids that something
drastic has to happen? 


Does this make sense?  It's like the curriculum is on an upward slope 
but the population is on a downward slope.   Which one wins?  Does the 
improved curriculum stop the leaving?   Or does the leaving make it 
impossible for use to deliver that quality to less and less kids?  

    As a followup to John and Steve, some parents (and students) are 
    apparently taking another look at school choice.  In the last two
    months, three eighth graders have returned to Maynard, and a Stow
    student has transfered in.  There is another returnee in the fifth
    grade, and there may be others, but that's all I am aware of from 
    talking to my kids.
    
    It may be that as John and Steve said, schools are being looked at
    for what they can offer to the student on an individual basis.  I
    know that my brother and his wife choiced their daughter into
    Maynard from Stow are just thrilled with her performance in the 
    Fowler.  However, they don't intend to move their other two kids
    into Maynard at this point.  
    
    We looked at Acton for our eighth grader (Ross) this past fall, and 
    found that moving the Maynard eighth graders to the High School offered 
    a better course selection than that offered by Acton/Boxboro for their 
    eighth grade.  Ross has a language, Algebra, etc., the High School band, 
    and he even got to start on the varsity Soccer team as a twelve year old.
    
    In this case we feel that Ross is much better off in Maynard.   
    
    In any event, I concur that parents and students need to shop around
    and make decisions based on the individual student and his or her 
    needs and abilities.  
    
    As an aside, there are a number of students who are choicing out 
    because of Hockey, which was dropped from MHS some years ago due
    to a lack of players (not funding).  I wonder if the Maynard School
    Department could run a poll at the local Hockey league (Sudbury-
    Maynard-Stow) to see if bringing back Hockey to MHS might keep some
    kids from choicing out?
    
    Frank

In my neighborhood, the scores (misinterpreted though they may have
been) have had an impact on the parents' perceptions of MHS.
Whether it will/has impacted their decisions on choice, I'm not
sure, but I'll bet it has had some.

>I worry 
>what will happen to the town's schools system if we lose too many kids 
>to run it effectively.    

That is indeed an important question.  I have no answer.

    For those who missed it, the Learning Section of the Boston Sunday
    Globe (page A51) headlined an article entitled "Putting Their Minds to
    the Test- Schools that scored well on statewide MEAP tests last year
    share secrets for getting kids to think".
    
    I quote, without permission from the Boston Sunday Globe:
    
    "When statewide assessment test scores released last year revealed that
    75 percent of students failed to understand the underlying principles 
    of what they were being taught, critics charged the tests drew an
    unfairly grim picture of student achievement."
    
    "But for a handful of schools that performed well on the Massachusetts
    Educational Assessment Program tests, the scores seemed to confirm that
    their new methods of teaching were paying off.  Students no longer were
    learning just the facts, they were learning how to think."
    
    Cutting to another section of the article:
    
    "The MEAP tests were criticized as unfair in part because, for the
    first time, a portion of the tests included essay questions in all 
    five subject areas:  English, writing, math, science, and social 
    studies.  In the past, the tests contained only multiple-choice
    questions."
    
    "The good news was that average scores in all grades rose."
    
    "The bad news was that the majority of students were unable to apply
    the knowledge and skills they learned in the classroom."
    
    "At Maynard High School, the news was all good.  More than 50 percent
    of all 12th graders performed in the top two test levels, meaning they
    showed ability to understand the basic principles behind what they were
    learning.  That was significantly better than the statewide average of
    29 percent for high school seniors."
    
    "In the last four years, Maynard has emphasized writing in all classes,
    according to William Vellante, interim superintendent of schools. 
    Meanwhile, in elective writing classes for juniors and seniors, the 
    buzzword is 'process writing,' which means focusing on each step of a
    writing project, not just the result."
    
    "'The final product is important, but the process is equally, if not
    more, important' said English teacher Winona DiNitto.  'There's lots
    of brainstorming.  And along with all the drafts and revisions, there's
    a lot of peer critique.'"
    
    "DiNitto and other Maynard teachers use a variety of writing lessons to
    stretch their students' minds.  In one creative writing class, high 
    school students discuss a poem with elementary pupils, and, after the
    older students draft the poem, the younger students critique it."
    
    Beverly, Westborough and the Graham and Parks Alternative Elementary
    School in Cambridge were also highlighed in this article for their 
    achievements.
    
    Frank 

    Although the school system should be proud of these scores, we should 
    all be reminded of the saying that goes something like:
    
    It's easy to get to the top, the hard part is staying there.
    
    While it's nice to be able to point to a class that's already graduated
    and say how well they did on the MEAP tests, I'm a lot more concerned
    with the below average scores that we don't hear anything about at the 
    elementary school.
    
    					Steve

    Today's Boston Globe has another favorable article about the Maynard
    Schools, on page 18.

    Titled "Study: School funding not the key to results", the article
    interprets a Horace Mann Foundation study "Spending and Achievement:
    The Preliminary Report".

    The article contrasts school systems with more spending and less
    achievement, vs. those with more spending and less achievement.  For
    example, Duxbury and Scituate did better than neighboring Hingham and
    Norwell, which spent more money.

    The point seems to be that there is not always a correlation between
    spending more money and producing a better education.  The Horace Mann
    study instead says that good results come more from "the efforts of
    parents, teachers, administrators, and students than any decision made
    at the upper levels of government." 

    The Globe article points out that Maynard High's scores are better than
    those in Acton-Boxborough, and quotes Maynard Superintendent Donald
    Kennedy at length. 

    Of course, Kennedy has not been here long enough to have any effect on
    last year's test scores.  However, Kennedy just came from Duxbury,
    where they also got good results (the Globe didn't notice his
    connection with another town they highlighted).  I find this a positive
    indicator, both of Kennedy's abilities as an administrator, his values,
    and his fit with the Town of Maynard. 

    As you would expect, the Globe uses the state figures for per-pupil
    spending, which places Maynard relatively low in comparison to
    regionalized systems.  Regional systems include overhead costs like
    teacher insurance benefits in their per-pupil expense, while Maynard
    lumps that all in one line item for Blue Cross/Blue Shield for all town
    employees instead of the school budget. The State doesn't care which
    you do.  At times, the idea has circulated to move the teacher benefits
    to the school budget, to increase the reported per-pupil expense, to
    give a warm feeling to anyone who equates more spending with better
    education. Probably the most rational approach would be to look at the
    new arcane funding rules in the Ed. Reform bill which Weld just signed,
    and do our accounting in whatever way maximizes the state money to the
    Maynard Schools.

    -Steve

Steve,
	The state figures for all communities does include the benefits. The 
school department is required to provide, usually through the town accountant,
a break down or best guess estimate as part of the end of year report. Some
other items such as pupil transportation costs are not included in the per
pupil cost calculation. Also it is not a straight forward total number of
students. the number of students is based on the average daily attendance.