Marblehead zeroes in on improving Grade 4 math scores

MARBLEHEAD – Superintendent of Schools Greg Maass and the School Department are moving forward with a plan to revise math classes system-wide and address the Grade 4 drop in MCAS math scores.New Math Coordinator Tracy Crowe will work with consultants to review Marblehead?s current math curriculum by studying records, surveying teachers and conducting focus groups.The consultant contract and the plan will come before the School Committee for their approval at the next business meeting.Crowe told the School Committee Thursday that Marblehead?s MCAS math scores are higher than the state average, “however, criteria for passing MCAS is minimal and I believe Marblehead students are capable of much higher scores.”Her review will be conducted with George Ladd and the Data Analysis and Strategic Planning Project. She said she expects to report the findings to the School Committee in mid-January, in time for them to be factored into the Fiscal 2013 budget.In a past study of elementary school MCAS scores in 2006-09, 70 percent of the 2006 Grade 3 students scored either Advanced or Proficient in math. Scores for that class dropped to 58 percent Advanced or Proficient in 2007, when they were in Grade 4, then rose to 71 percent in Grade 5 in 2008 and 78 percent last year, when they were in Grade 6. In the past school officials have placed part of the blame on transitional issues, since Grade 3 students are the senior students in the town?s lower elementary schools and Grade 4 students are the entering class in the Marblehead Village School.School Committee member Jonathan Lederman told Crowe that, while she works to develop a long-range math curriculum plan, “The barn?s on fire and we have to deal with it.” He called the math scores in Grades 3-12 “pretty good,” but left Grade 4 off the list.For example, he said, 52 percent this year either failed the MCAS or were in the Needs Improvement category, although the class scores increased as they progressed.School Committee Chairman EuRim Chun told Lederman he was “a step ahead” of the process they were discussing, “but I think we hear your urgency,” and Crowe told him, “I will extinguish the fires as quickly as I can. I have been talking to teachers about the MCAS scores.”?We hear your concerns,” Maass said. “We think we can address this long-range, within two years.”