Assistant Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti shared an overall assessment of student achievement data with the Board of Education at its meeting on October 5.

Near the start of the presentation, Uberti explained that the overview of student achievement “is only a fraction of the thousands of data points” collected on students over the course of the school year and throughout their educational careers.

“The results we will be reviewing tonight must be taken in context of what our students and teachers have experienced in the three years of the pandemic,” said Uberti.

The presentation collected overall data from the state assessments administered in the spring of 2022. Those tests were the Connecticut Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment for English language arts/math, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the Connecticut SAT School Day.

The Connecticut Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment is administered to students in third to eighth grade; NGSS is given to students in fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade; and the Connecticut SAT School Day is taken by students in their junior year of high school.

For the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in English language arts, all grade levels but sixth grade had improvement over the 2021 testing year. The level of sixth grade students who met or exceeded achievement level dropped from 68% in 2021 to 64% in 2022.

All of the grades overall improved from 67% meeting or exceeding achievement level in 2021 to 72% in 2022, according to a slide for the presentation. The state’s average in 2022 was 55.6%.

Uberti said learning continued to be impacted by the pandemic in the 2021-22 school year, but given the circumstances she is “extremely encouraged by our students’ performance.”

For the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in math, four grades had overall decreased scores from the previous year while one grade tested at the same level and one grade, third, had improvement. Overall Newtown had 67% of students meeting or exceeding achievement level in 2021 and 64% meeting those standards in 2022.

Uberti said the school district is looking at each grade level to identify students who need more instruction in math to “get back on track.”

“We believe that these scores will continue to climb in the coming years.”

There was also talk at the meeting of a difference in how English language arts is taught versus math, which has a greater general requirement for students to grasp prerequisite concepts in order to best learn future lessons. The impact of the pandemic on the lessons was also discussed.

The NGSS results showed fifth grade testing at 67% meeting or exceeding achievement levels in both 2021 and 2022; an improvement from 61% in 2021 to 67% in 2022 for eighth grade students; and a drop from 63% in 2021 to 51% for high school juniors in 2022.

While Uberti acknowledged the state no longer uses previously identified District Reference Groups (DRG), or state determined like-districts, the report showed Newtown’s results compared to those school districts. For Smarter Balanced English language arts Newtown was 14th in the DRG and for math it was 11th, according to the presentation.

When going over the Connecticut SAT School Day results, Uberti reminded the school board members that when it was administered on March 23, 2022, there was a ten-minute power outage at Newtown High School due to the construction site for I-84. The school was not notified there would be a power outage before it happened, and students were given the option to re-take the test.

According to Uberti, a small number of students chose to re-take the test.

The Connecticut SAT School Day for 2021-22 shows the lowest percent of students meeting or exceeding achievement levels over four years, as explained in the presentation. In 2020-21 students taking the test scored an average of 79.8% in English language arts and 60% in math.

For the 2021-22 testing year students scored 72.4% in English language arts and 57.8% in math.

In summarizing her report, Uberti shared that performance is overall returning to pre-pandemic levels, the higher performances in English language arts over math is consistent with previous year and state trends, between 2014-2021 vertical scale scores show scores trending up in both reading and math, and more.

Overall, Newtown student performance “far exceeds state performance, and has improved both reading and math in DRG standing,” the presentation reads.

Uberti reflected that data suggests continued support for student learning loss must target individual students.

Next steps for curriculum and instruction shared in the presentation included continuing to revise curriculum to provide high quality instruction and assessment, developing rigorous student learning goals that aim to close gaps, and using data to “inform multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) for students in need of targeted instruction,” and more.

Other next steps include planned professional development and continued support for social and emotional learning curriculum “focusing on the whole child.”

Uberti reminded the school board members that data does not “give all the answers.”

“We have to remember that every number is associated with a child and all their unique experiences (and trials),” said Uberti.

Reflecting on the “tireless dedication” of Newtown’s educators, Uberti said, “I am extremely confident that [Newtown students] will continue to grow and reach their full potential.”

Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.