BY
MATT SCHOOLEY
Both Bow and Hopkinton
11th-graders did well in the reading,
but struggled in math during
the recently released results
of the New England Common
Assessment Program test.
In Hopkinton, 64 of the 87
students tested scored either
below proficient or partially proficient
in math, but 70 out of the
87 students tested in reading
scored proficient or proficient
with distinction.
Bow students scored on the
bottom two levels in math on 81
out of the 141 tests, but 111 students
scored in the top two tiers
in the reading section, including
41 students scoring proficient
with distinction.
“I was a little disappointed
in the results overall, but compared
to the state, we’re doing
OK,” said Bow Superintendent
of Schools Dean Cascadden.
“Standards have increased and
we need to respond to it. We
have some work to do to make
sure that we’re doing what we’re
supposed to be doing.”
Hopkinton Superintendent
of Schools Brian Blake said his
staff is in the process of determining
what direction to go
after analyzing the results.
“It is a snapshot in time of a
particular class, and we’re very
hesitant to compare one class to
another. We look at kids from
year to year and the progress
they’re making,” said Blake. “We
have committees set up to dig
into the results and find out are
areas of weakness to fill in those
gaps.”
Cascadden said it is difficult
to judge the results since it is
the first year 11th-graders were
tested.
“This test is the first time
we’ve given it to this grade level.
We’re not going to flip out over
this one test, but there are ways
we can improve right away and
next year’s test will show we
took it seriously and adapted to
get better,” he said.
Both Hopkinton and Bow
performed at about average on
the writing section of the test,
as only 18 students in Bow and
five in Hopkinton scored on the
highest tier.
Blake said it is difficult to
scrutinize a curriculum based
on one exam.
“We don’t put all of our stock
in one exam. We do a number
of assessments in house. All of
our courses are looked at on a
regular basis,” said Blake.