Announcements:

• 2009 - 2010 Financial Aid Program - Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Wethersfield High School Auditorium.

• Wethersfield High School Tours Spain

• The Phoenix 

• The Pieces Literary Magazine

• The Band Boosters

• Cool Schools - Wethersfield High School

• Student Guide to Help Self & Friends: Inside WHS

• 2009-2010 School Calendar*            2009-2010 Parent Calendar*

Principal's Message:

November 3, 2009

Congratulations to Christina Cropsey and Zachary Francis who have been named as “Commended Students” in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Many Wethersfield High School art students have been selected to represent their school in the Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce/Wethersfield Public Schools Youth Art Appreciation Program. Asley Trinh, Pauline Nyren and Anne Wilson have their art pieces on display at the Wethersfield Board of Education – Stillman Building and Francesca Schryver and Natalie Wright have their original art work displayed at the Wethersfield Public Library.  Congratulations to these talented students.  

Advanced Placement Scores Highlights

An examination of the data provided by the College Board on AP scores at Wethersfield High School is very positive.

·         The number of students taking AP tests in 2009 increased (99 to 102) from the previous year. This is the most students taking AP tests in the past five years.

·         The overall number of tests taken in 2009 increased (148 to 164) from the previous year. This is the most exams taken by WHS students over the past five years.

·         The percentage of exam scores of 3 or higher increased from 80% to 86%

·         The percentage of students scoring a 5 increased from 26% to 30%

·         The percentage of students scoring a 1 decreased  (a positive sign) from 7% to 2%

·         The percentage of 10^th graders taking AP tests increased from 4.5% to 6.1%

·         The number of 11^th graders taking AP tests increased from 7.9% to 11.3%

·         All subject areas increased or remained the same in students scoring 3 or better with the exception of Chemistry and US History

·         Students took exams in the two new AP offerings (European History and Psychology) and performed well 

Comparison of percent of students scoring 3 or better between 2008 and 2009

·         Biology increased from 82% to 85%

·         Chemistry decreased from 86% to 75%

·         Computer Science increased from 83% to 100%

·         Macroeconomics increased from 54% to 88%

·         Microeconomics increased from 73% to 100%

·         English Literature increased from 83% to 100% (20 out of 20 students)

·         French Language increased from 67% to 100%

·         Physics B and C remained at 100%

·         Spanish Language remained at 100%

·         Art increased from 40% to 57%

·         US History decreased from 87% to 68% (new teacher in his 1^st year at WHS)

·         Calculus AB and BC remained at 100%

·         European History scored at 60%

·         Psychology scored at 100%

·         Music scored at 67%

SAT and ACT Highlights

There is a one-year statistic at Wethersfield High School towards more students taking the ACT exam and fewer students taking the SAT exam. The good news is that we are seeing significant increases of the achievement of WHS students on both exams.

There were 199 students from the Class of 2009 who took the SAT test out of a group of 263 graduating seniors. This number represents 76% of the graduating class. Information on the results of the SAT test is as follows: 

• There was an increase of 15 points in the Verbal mean score from 500 in 2008 to 515 in 2009.
• There was an increase 0f 19 points in the Math mean score from 513 in 2008 to 532 in 2009.
• There was an increase in the Writing mean score from 508 in 2008 to 518 in 2009.
• Verbal scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 6 points and exceed the national average by 14 points.
• Math scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 19 points and exceed the national average by 17 points.
• Writing scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 6 points and exceed the national average by 25 points.
• 5-year changes at WHS reported by the College Board indicate an 11 point increase in verbal and a 13 point increase in math. Writing is in its 4^th year and the 4-year change indicates an increase of 18 points. The 5-year change in the State of Connecticut reports an 8 point decrease in verbal and a 4 point decrease in math. The 4-year change in writing is a decrease of one point. 5-year national averages have fallen 7 points in verbal and 5 points in math. The national 4-year average in writing has decreased by 4 points.
• Female students at WHS outperformed their male counterparts on the reading and writing portion of the SAT while males outscored females in math. This trend has remained consistent over the past 4 years.

There were 82 students who took the ACT test in 2009 compared to 68 students in 2008. The five-year change is +20 students taking the ACT exam. Benchmark scores on the ACT which indicate college readiness are 18 for English, 22 for math, 21 for reading and 24 for science. A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a “B” or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a “C” or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses. 

• Scores in English increased from 20.5 to 23.0 (benchmark 18). The 5-year change is +1.5
• Scores in math increased from 22.5 to 24.1 (benchmark 22). The 5-year change is +1.1
• Scores in reading increased from 21.3 to 24.0 (benchmark 21). The 5-year change is +2.1
• Scores in science increased from 21.6 to 22.8 (benchmark 24). The 5-year change is +1.4
• Females at WHS score higher on the ACT in English, reading and science and males outscore females in math.
• The WHS composite score of 23.6 is slightly higher than the Connecticut mean of 23.5. The composite score on the ACT for WHS students as reported on the 5-year change is +1.5. The composite WHS score of 23.6 is the highest in the five year reporting cycle.

There is a one-year statistic at Wethersfield High School towards more students taking the ACT exam and fewer students taking the SAT exam. The good news is that we are seeing significant increases of the achievement of WHS students on both exams.

There were 199 students from the Class of 2009 who took the SAT test out of a group of 263 graduating seniors. This number represents 76% of the graduating class. Information on the results of the SAT test is as follows: 

• There was an increase of 15 points in the Verbal mean score from 500 in 2008 to 515 in 2009.
• There was an increase 0f 19 points in the Math mean score from 513 in 2008 to 532 in 2009.
• There was an increase in the Writing mean score from 508 in 2008 to 518 in 2009.
• Verbal scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 6 points and exceed the national average by 14 points.
• Math scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 19 points and exceed the national average by 17 points.
• Writing scores at WHS exceed the State of Connecticut average by 6 points and exceed the national average by 25 points.
• 5-year changes at WHS reported by the College Board indicate an 11 point increase in verbal and a 13 point increase in math. Writing is in its 4^th year and the 4-year change indicates an increase of 18 points. The 5-year change in the State of Connecticut reports an 8 point decrease in verbal and a 4 point decrease in math. The 4-year change in writing is a decrease of one point. 5-year national averages have fallen 7 points in verbal and 5 points in math. The national 4-year average in writing has decreased by 4 points.
• Female students at WHS outperformed their male counterparts on the reading and writing portion of the SAT while males outscored females in math. This trend has remained consistent over the past 4 years.

There were 82 students who took the ACT test in 2009 compared to 68 students in 2008. The five-year change is +20 students taking the ACT exam. Benchmark scores on the ACT which indicate college readiness are 18 for English, 22 for math, 21 for reading and 24 for science. A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a “B” or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a “C” or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses. 

• Scores in English increased from 20.5 to 23.0 (benchmark 18). The 5-year change is +1.5
• Scores in math increased from 22.5 to 24.1 (benchmark 22). The 5-year change is +1.1
• Scores in reading increased from 21.3 to 24.0 (benchmark 21). The 5-year change is +2.1
• Scores in science increased from 21.6 to 22.8 (benchmark 24). The 5-year change is +1.4
• Females at WHS score higher on the ACT in English, reading and science and males outscore females in math.
• The WHS composite score of 23.6 is slightly higher than the Connecticut mean of 23.5. The composite score on the ACT for WHS students as reported on the 5-year change is +1.5. The composite WHS score of 23.6 is the highest in the five year reporting cycle.

Overall CAPT Highlights

· Students at WHS scored at or above state averages in all four areas of the 2009 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT).

· All students, including all subgroups, at WHS met the AYP target in all content areas on the 2009 CAPT. This progress can be attributed to the fact that all WHS teachers crafted one of their professional growth objectives around the “reading for information” strand of the CAPT.

· The 9 percentage points increase in the reading portion of the CAPT represents the largest increase ever in any area.  Part of this growth can be attributed to school-wide professional growth objectives linked to literacy and reading for information.

· Students with disabilities scoring at/above proficient increased by 2.1% compared to 2007.

· Sample sizes for students with disabilities in math, reading and science sections of the CAPT were below 20 and thus were not reported.

Principal's Blog Archive 2008-2009

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