Kathy Koetter, CACS Director/lead teacher, was all smiles as she leaned back in her chair and shared the results of the 2010 MCA-II tests in reading and math.
While the number of students enrolled in CACS in grades K-6 make the testing cells too small to provide the statistical data available to schools with larger enrollment, the fact is that of the 34 students tested in grades 3-6; 79.41 percent tested proficient in reading and 79.41 percent tested proficient in math.
CACS students tested higher than state averages in both reading and math.
The testing cell numbers show that 12 students tested in grade 6; 8 tested in grade 5; 5 tested in grade 4 and 9 tested in grade 3. Total enrollment in 2009-2010 at CACS was 74 students. “We tend to have larger class sizes in our kindergarten class and primary grades,” said Koetter. Grades K through 3 do not take the MCA-II tests.
“When we analyzed the data from the 2009 tests we knew we needed to focus on reading, Koetter shared. The reading scores came in below the state average in 2009.
To help students make improvements, the teachers worked together and added three supplemental programs to the curriculum. “We added the Daily 5 reading curriculum, the Lucy Calkins writing curriculum and Words Their Way, an independent word study with focus on spelling.” Koetter credited the new curriculum as only part of the reason for the improved scores. She also cited the staff collaboration, team effort and the small classes as reasons for the success. “The staff did a great job taking on the task to improve scores.” She went on to explain that each teacher set individual goals for improvement for students, for their classroom and school as a whole.
