Putting Students to the Test

While basketball fans look forward to March madness, freshman and sophomore high school students view the month with more trepidation.

The countdown has begun as students prepare for state tests.

Since 1994, the year the test was first administered, the month of March means the start of the Connecticut Academic Performance test (CAPT) for freshmen (who take a practice test) and sophomores.  

For students and the High School, CAPT scores are an important indicator. The CAPT results provide information about student performance on competencies in mathematics, reading, writing and science.

Scores are linked to how the school is viewed by the community, the state of Connecticut and the nation. Scores on the CAPT translate into rankings that clarify how well is educating students compared to other local communities and at the national level.

“We have worked hard to emphasize the particulars of these tests, while simultaneously trying to reinforce the other skill and content aspects of our comprehensive curricula," said THS Principal Robert Tremaglio.

According to ConnCAN, a state advocacy group devoted to closing Connecticut’s achievement gap, Trumbull High School is doing well.  Each year, ConnCAN grades more than 1,000 Connecticut public schools, reviews CAPT scores and analyzes the data.

For the second year, Trumbull High School ranked as a top ten school on ConnCAN’s list for minority student performance. Trumbull High School ranked first place for low-income and Hispanic student performance and third place in African American student performance.

Overall, 95 percent of THS sophomores met proficiency in 2010. 

“CAPT is a good way to measure the performance of the school’s curriculum because it is a standard test. Unfortunately, some students are not good test takers and have other abilities that cannot be reflected in a CAPT score, so in this way CAPT is not always the best indication of a school’s success,” junior Alyssa Zabin said.

ConnCAN also advocates that districts evaluate their teachers based on student achievement as measured by CAPT and other standardized tests such as the SAT.  High school teachers would be considered successful based on students’ performance on these measures.

Many teachers and administrators dislike this move towards what is also known as “value added” measures because of the numerous variables that make up a classroom. Yet, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have pledged to change to the way teachers are evaluated, in order to receive a hefty "Race to the Top" grant.

With March approaching quickly, teachers actively help students prepare, but they are only part of the solution. Parents can also help children succeed on the test.

Some common preparations include stressing the importance of trying hard on the CAPT and making sure that children are well-rested and have a good breakfast before coming to school.

More information on CAPT can be found at the Connecticut State Department of Education Web site at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.asp. Information on ConnCAN is located at http://www.ConnCAN.org.