Connecticut’s Secondary Schools: A Case for Reform

1. Connecticut’s Secondary Schools: A Case for Reform

2. The Connecticut high school population…

3. Connecticut is losing ground to other states... CT gained no ground compared to other states in Reading between 2003 and 2007 CT lost ground compared to other states in Math. NAEP – Percent of grade 8 students at or above proficient Note: Bold states indicate performance significantly different form CT performance..

4. Math CAPT scores show need for improvement • 50 percent of CT students scored at the Goal or Advanced Performance band levels • 20 percent of CT students scored below proficiency

5. Reading CAPT scores also show need for improvement • 46 percent of CT students scored at the Goal or Advanced Performance band levels • 17 percent of CT students scored below proficiency

6. Science CAPT scores show a similar story • 47 percent of CT students scored at the Goal or Advanced Performance band levels • 19 percent of CT students scored below proficiency

7. Math CAPT scores show racial divide • 15 percent of black students and 18 percent of Hispanic students scored in the Goal or Advanced Performance levels, compared to 64 percent of white students • Black students were five times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance levels • Hispanic students were four and a half times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance levels

8. Reading CAPT scores show racial performance gaps • 15 percent of black students and 18 percent of Hispanic students scored in the Goal or Advanced Performance levels, compared to 57 percent of white students • Black students were four and a half times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance levels • Hispanic students were about four and a quarter times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance levels

9. Science CAPT scores reveal racial performance gaps • 13 percent of black students and 16 percent of the Hispanic students scored in the Goal or Advanced Performance band levels, compared to 59 percent of white students • Black students were almost six times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance band levels  • Hispanic students were almost six times more likely than white students to score at the Below Basic and Basic performance band levels

10. Graduation rates have peaked • Graduation rates gained 3.5 percentage points from 2004 to 2008 • For the period 2006 to 2008, the graduation rate has remained relatively stable Note: CSDE calculates the graduation rate the number of high school students who graduate with regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the graduating class plus dropouts in the previous four years. CSDE is currently transitioning to the National Governors’ Association (NGA) definition of graduation rate which will be calculated beginning with the graduating class of 2010.

11. Just under 60 percent of CT high school graduates move on to 4-year colleges Of the 38,419 high school graduates in 2007, 59 percent went directly on to a 4-year college 23 percent went directly on to a 2-year college

12. Annual dropout rates remain high statewide • Preliminary data for 2008 indicate an increase in the dropout rate statewide. * Preliminary data Note: Annual dropout rate = [total dropouts, grades 9-12] / [total October 1 enrollment, grades 9-12] This is the definition adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education.

13. Annual dropout rates show racial disparity • There is considerable variation in dropout rates by race. • Hispanic students exhibit dropout rates roughly twice the state average. * Preliminary data Note: Annual dropout rate = [total dropouts, grades 9-12] / [total October 1 enrollment, grades 9-12] This is the definition adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education.

14. Attendance rates vary significantly by race • There is considerable variation in attendance by race and by grade. • Hispanic students exhibit attendance rates of 90 percent or lower throughout high school. • Junior and senior attendance rates tend to be lower than freshman and sophomore rates.

15. Disciplinary problems result in lost instructional time • The total number of days of sanctions for disciplinary actions has been high and stable for the last two years.

16. College Readiness shows little improvement Average SAT scores have been stagnant in the last three years

17. Among similar states, Connecticut’s SAT scores are not at the top… Among states with similar participation rates, CT ranked 6th out of 10 in Math in 2007 and 2008 CT ranked 5th in critical reading in both years CT ranked 2nd in Writing in both years SAT Scores for states with high participation rates: 2007 and 2008

18. AP exam pass rates are low for CT and US students The percentage of graduates that passed at least one AP exams remained stable over the last 4 years. CT remains well above the US average Source: CSDE

19. CT high schools do not offer enough advanced placement courses… • For some subjects, only 41 percent of high schools offered advanced placement courses. • Only 2/3 of high schools offered AP Science • Less than ¾ of high schools offer AP English • Less than ¾ of high schools offer AP Math

20. And too few students take them… Less than 7 percent of high school students took college credit courses in Math in 2007. Less than 5 percent of high school students took college credit courses in English in 2007.

21. College readiness in CT: a few great high schools, too few good ones 16 Connecticut high schools earned a Gold or Silver medal, ranking CT 2nd best. But, only 21 Connecticut high schools earned a medal at all, ranking CT 26th. Note: The U.S. News & World Report methodology, developed by Standard & Poor's, uses a three-step process to determine the best high schools. The first step determined whether each school's students were performing better than statistically expected for the average student in the state in reading and math, factoring in the percentage of economically disadvantaged students. For those schools that made it past this first step, the second step determined whether the school's least-advantaged students (black, Hispanic, and low income) were performing better than average for similar students in the state in math and reading tests. Schools that made it through the first two steps were then ranked and awarded medals based on Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate test data. This third step measured which schools produced the best college-level achievement for the highest percentages of their students. The "college readiness index" is based on the weighted average of the AP and/or IB participation rate along with how well the students scored on those tests.