    
In the News - 2008
Website Helps Hartford Parents Choose Schools By JODIE MOZDZER, The Hartford Courant, January 5, 2009 Audrey Marshall looked through a computerized list of Hartford-area schools and homed in on one thing: Connecticut Mastery Test scores. Had Marshall wanted to know where a school was located, or its racial makeup, the program, called Smart Choices, could tell her that, too. It was developed by a group of Trinity College students in teacher Jack Dougherty's Cities, Suburbs and Schools course, and will be officially launched today at http://smartchoices.trincoll.edu. The class worked with other Trinity staff and the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now to develop the program. It uses Google mapping software and several databases of information to give a description of each school. (Read more about ConnCAN's Hartford Initiative). ConnCAN's Alex Johnston on NBC 30 Watch Alex on NBC 30's Connecticut Newsmakers segment. The three R’s (recession, reform, and results) Marc Porter Magee, Guest Editorial, The Education Gadfly, October 30, 2008 Dreading the pinch of a tight economy on your state's budget? You're not alone. According to the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, nearly every state experienced flat or declining revenues in the first half of 2008 compared to last year, and 39 states have developed "budget shortfalls"--gaps between expected revenue and planned expenditures. Since virtually every state is constitutionally required to balance its books each year, large spending cuts in most states are a near-certainty--and with school spending making up such a large portion of most state budgets, reductions in k-12 education are almost inevitable. Six years ago, the last recession saw more than two-thirds of states cut funding for elementary and secondary schools. What's an education reformer to do?
Hartford School Cuts Could Reverse Progress Adamowski on Wednesday laid out ramifications of potential budget cuts that would pretty much decimate the school system and set back his education reforms. Those efforts received a significant boost this month from the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, an independent school reform organization. In its State of Connecticut Public Education report, ConnCAN gave kudos to Hartford for this year's performance gains in closing the achievement gap between the city's elementary and middle school students and their peers statewide. The gains, according to the organization, outpaced the state's by nearly double and were three times higher than what Hartford tallied last year.
Marc Porter Magee on WTIC News Talk 1080 Mark Porter Magee, researcher with ConnCAN, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now on News Talk 1080's "Face Connecticut" series. Radio Interview: Marc Porter Magee
Elementary school ranks in the top ten once again Kendall Elementary School has scored in the top ten of the ConnCAN 2008 School Report Cards in two of the areas assessed by the organization. Kendall ranked fourth for test scores of Hispanic students meeting state goals on the Connecticut Mastery Test and fifth for African-American children meeting state goals. This marks the third year in a row that Kendall has scored in the top ten in at least one area, one of only nine schools in the state to achieve this distinction. Connecticut has approximately 1,000 schools.
Most-Improved Schools A New Haven-based advocacy group has analyzed standardized test scores statewide and highlighted schools that it deems "success stories." The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, or ConnCAN, has ranked schools according to greatest gains on standardized tests, most improved and gains by African American, Hispanic and low-income students. On the group's website, www.conncan.org, King/Robinson Magnet School in New Haven, which serves kindergarten through eighth grade, and Lawrence School in Middletown are credited with the largest performance gains among elementary schools. Middle-schoolers showed the most improvement at King/Robinson and Hooker School in Hartford, while Cromwell High School and Bristol Central High School showed the most improvement on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, according to the group.
Grades low for city schools While some New Haven schools were recently ranked at the top of the class, the district as a whole is far from receiving straight A’s.
Map the Gap The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), the New Haven-based organization that frets about Connecticut's mamoth achievement gap has taken all the data they collect on each of Connecticut's school districts and mapped it out.
ConnCAN ranks Connecticut's elementary, middle and high schools The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now has released its annual School Report Cards for public schools throughout the state. Detailed, user-friendly information is now available on the 2008 performance of more than 1,000 schools and 160 districts in the state.
Education group releases rankings The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now has released its latest school rankings based on 2008 Connecticut Academic Performance Test and Connecticut Mastery Test scores. The group’s report ranks and scores schools statewide based on overall improvements in student performance and achievement of the district’s low-income, black and Hispanic students. “ConnCAN is equipping Connecticut parents with the facts so they can play a rightfully central role as partners in improving our state’s public education system,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN’s executive director.
School Report Cards Released
Business-backed reform group grades your public school A corporate-funded group is out with grades and assessments of student performance in public schools across the state. It's debatable whether slapping a letter grade on a school tells us very much. But there's little doubt that the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) does a much better job than the state of Connecticut informing parents about how schools are performing.
Bristol Central ranks #2 in achievement gains Steve Collins, Bristol Press, September 25, 2008 Across Connecticut, Bristol Central High School posted the second highest increase during the past year in the average percentage of students within goal range across all subjects on state tests, according to ConnCan.That makes it the second most improved high school in the state, behind only Cromwell High School. School Report Cards Released
Well Worth Saving It's been a whirlwind year for Macdonough Elementary School, the North End's main school for K-5. Earlier this year, budget problems faced the school board, and teachers, parents and neighborhood leaders fought successfully to keep the school open. Now, we have more cause to celebrate. ConnCAN, a non-profit organization, and leader in the field of education has named Macdonough to be the third most improved schools in the state. The 2008 CMT scores showed an average of 21% increase in students "at goal" across the board. Also, ConnCAN highlights 10 schools state-wide as "success stories", with a video and spotlight on their website, and Macdonough was chosen for this honor, as well. The video will be filmed in the coming weeks.
Interview: Marc Porter Magee on 1080AM's Face Connecticut ConnCAN's Marc Porter Magee sat down with Sam Gingerella to talk about Connecticut's high school graduation rates. Download the radio interview.
Closing the income gap through education in New Haven ConnCAN's been studying Connecticut schools' success stories to better advise others on how to make improvements. The successful schools, Johnston says "can't change the short-term social circumstances of their students, but they can make up for challenges in kids' lives. It may be as banal as helping kids get their uniforms clean. It may also be providing a whole extra level of support and counseling around college choices."
Report: Student achievement gap wide Results of the 2007 Connecticut Aptitude and Performance Test were used to rank all of the state's high schools by ConnCAN -- the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now -- a nonprofit organization that tracks achievement gap problems. In a report released in late February, ConnCAN officials said Greenwich High School was among high schools with the largest achievement gaps ever recorded on state standardized tests. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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