Pat Tolento was planning a celebration for faculty and staff at Primrose Hill School following the recent release of the RICAS assessment scores.
The principal of Primrose Hill School was very …
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Pat Tolento was planning a celebration for faculty and staff at Primrose Hill School following the recent release of the RICAS assessment scores.
The principal of Primrose Hill School was very pleased with the performance of her school's students on RICAS assessments — third-graders at Primrose had some of the best scores in the district and were well-above the state average on both the math and English language arts portions of the tests.
"I'm very happy," said Ms. Tolento. "The students worked hard. The teachers worked hard. They all did great."
In fact, students' scores from across the Barrington School District were more than 30 percentage points better than the state averages in Rhode Island, and also exceeded the state averages in Massachusetts on the MCAS assessments. The RICAS is the Rhode Island version of the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), which is the assessment tool for the nation’s highest-performing state for public education.
In math, 60.6 percent of Barrington students in grades 3 through 8 either met or exceeded expectations, compared to the statewide average of 27.5 percent.
In ELA, about 69.5 percent of Barrington students met or exceeded expectations, while the state average was 33.7 percent.
"We're satisfied with the initial results," said Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore, "but definitely see that there's room for improvement. I'm very proud of what we're doing in the classrooms."
The move to RICAS was met with significant support from Rhode Island educators for its high standards, sustainability, aligned instructional resources, and shorter testing time, according to Rhode Island Department of Education officials.
“Through RICAS, we now have a true apples-to-apples comparison of how we perform compared to Massachusetts, the gold standard for education in America and beyond,” said Ken Wagner, R.I. commissioner of elementary and secondary education. “This partnership provides meaningful information for families, educators, and the public, giving us a clear and common sense path forward to improve teaching and learning in Rhode Island schools.”
On average, Rhode Island students scored 17 percentage points lower than Massachusetts in ELA and 20 percentage points lower in math. RIDE officials illustrated the disparagement through a comparison to MCAS scores for Seekonk, Mass. students.
Approximately 62 percent of Seekonk students met or exceeded expectation on the ELA portion of the MCAS tests, and about 57 percent of Seekonk students met or exceeded expectations in math. Those marks were well above the Rhode Island state average, but still below the average scores for Barrington students.
"There is still so much analysis that we need to do," said Mr. Messore. "… but for a first time test … we were very pleased with the results."
At the elementary schools
Barrington's three K-3 elementary schools all performed well on the ELA portion of the RICAS assessments.
At Nayatt, about 74 percent of the students tested met or exceeded expectations in ELA. That news was celebrated by Nayatt School Principal Tracey Whitehead.
"I'm very excited about the scores," said Ms. Whitehead. "The teachers did amazing work. The kids did amazing work… I am ecstatic."
Nayatt students also performed very well in math — approximately 68 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations. Ms. Whitehead said the strong performance was a credit to the entire Nayatt family — teachers, students, parents and Barrington school administrators, including Paula Dillon, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
Sowams School Principal Jim Callahan was also very pleased with the recent RICAS scores. In ELA, 71.4 percent of Sowams students met or exceeded expectations, and in math, approximately 53 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations.
"I think everybody works really, really hard to bring the kids up to the next level," said Mr. Callahan. "The scores are great. We're very happy with the scores."
Mr. Callahan said his teachers did a nice job ensuring that students understood the language used on the RICAS and were well-versed on using computers, since the RICAS is administered on computers.
At Hampden Meadows School, students' scores on the RICAS were also well-above state averages in Rhode Island. In math, about 57 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations. In ELA, more than 66 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations.
Hampden Meadows School Principal Tracey McGee was very pleased with the results. She said the district is always looking to improve and enhance the curriculum and close the achievement gaps.
"I was impressed," said Ms. McGee. "We do a lot of hard work in this district...Our district did amazing."
Barrington Middle School students performed well on the RICAS. In math, nearly 64 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations, while in ELA, more than 70 percent of the students met or exceeded expectations. Barrington Middle School Principal Andrew Anderson said he was proud of the scores.
"With any new assessment we know there will be an implementation dip, but, our results indicated that we are continuing to see growth in both tested areas," Dr. Anderson wrote in a recent email to the Times. "We honestly do not teach to one particular assessment, however, we do try to provide our students on a regular basis with opportunities to engage deeply with the curriculum and standards through collaboration, creativity, communication, critically thinking, and having our students regularly engage in the reflective process. In addition, we also contribute our success to our teachers regularly planning and engaging in the continuous improvement process.”
How Barrington students fared
Barrington Middle School
Math
Not meeting — 4.4 percent
Partially meeting — 32.08 percent
Meeting — 53.17 percent
Exceeding — 10.35
ELA
Not meeting: 5.08
Partially meeting: 24.48
Meeting: 54.04
Exceeding: 16.41
Hampden Meadows School
Math
Not meeting: 5.01 percent
Partially meeting: 37.96 percent
Meeting: 47.98 percent
Exceeding: 9.06 percent
ELA
Not meeting: 3.52 percent
Partially meeting: 29.75
Meeting: 57.73
Exceeding: 9 percent
Nayatt School
Math
Not meeting: 4.21
Partially meeting: 27.37
Meeting: 54.74
Exceeding: 13.68
ELA
Not meeting: 2.11 percent
Partially meeting: 23.16
Meeting: 55.79
Exceeding: 18.95
Primrose Hill School
Math
Not meeting: 4 percent
Partially meeting: 38.67
Meeting: 46.67
Exceeding: 10.67
ELA
Not meeting: .32
Partially meeting: 25
Meeting: 51.32
Exceeding: 22.37
Sowams School
Math
Not meeting: 7.14
Partially meeting: 40
Meeting: 44.29
Exceeding: 8.57
ELA
Not meeting: 0 percent
Partially meeting: 28.57
Meeting: 62.86
Exceeding: 8.57
Barrington district — grades 3-8
Math
Not meeting: 4.88 percent
Partially meeting: 34.53
Meeting: 50. 59
Exceeding: 10.01
ELA
Not meeting: 4.06 percent
Partially meeting: 26.47
Meeting: 55.5
Exceeding: 13.96
State averages
Math
Not meeting: 22.35
Partially meeting: 50.34
Meeting: 25.3
Exceeding: 2.01
ELA
Not meeting: 19.76
Partially meeting: 46.53
Meeting: 30.24
Exceeding: 3.47