Announcements:
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 10th
graders taking AP tests increased from 4.5% to 6.1%
·
The number of 11th
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 1st 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 4th
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 4th
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