Kids & Family
Reduced Meal 8th Graders Improvement Plateaus
What do you think is responsible for the sharp decline in rate of progress for Milford Free/Reduced Meal 8th grade students?
At Monday night's Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Michael Cummings went over a 45-page packet, analyzing CMT, CAPT, DRA & AP test scores with the Board.
Additionally, there was a 33-page packet titled 'Discussion of 2011-12 Results' that included charts attempting to put the test results into context.
One chart compared Milford 3rd-8th Grade Students who received Free/Reduced Price Meals vs. Students who did not receive Free or Reduced Meals.
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As the attached charts show, while there is a gap in achievement between the two groups in 3rd grade, both the Full Price and Free/Reduced Meal students made relatively parallel gains in test scores from 3rd to 7th grade.
From 7th to 8th grade, however, the Full Price students increase at a somewhat-reduced incline, while the Free/Reduced Meal students went from an approximate 20 point increase in Math and Science scores from 6th to 7th grade to an approximate 10 point increase in Math and close to a 5 point increase in Reading from 7th to 8th grade, down from all previous inclines from 3rd-7th grade.
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Cummings pointed out that Free/Reduced Meal students make up about 15% of students in the 3rd-8th grade Milford statistics.
A recent episode of the radio program This American Life discussed the relationship between non-cognitive skills and the ability to succeed in the classroom.
What do you think is responsible for the sharp decline in rate of progress for Free/Reduced Meal Milford students from 7th to 8th grade?
What do you think Milford Public Schools can/should do to help address this issue? Let us know in the comments section.
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