Back to school: Attendance and test scores are up in CT – but not everywhere
Although attendance and scores are up, they haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels.
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Students are back in class this week, and new figures from the state Department of Education show that more kids are actually showing up for school.
Test scores have also improved.
But not every school district is seeing improvement.
BETTER ATTENDANCE
Connecticut has struggled to get students back in school ever since the pandemic sent them into lockdown, but things are turning around.
In Norwalk, chronic absences dropped by 9% with direct intervention.
“We started to send home these letters that said, ‘This is how many days your child is absent,’” said deputy superintendent Sandra Faioes. “When you ask a parent how many days absent a child has, they often underestimate the amount of days.”
The state is spending an extra $7 million to reach at-risk kids – especially high schoolers – through the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program. LEAP staffers actually visit students’ homes.
Although attendance rates are up, they haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels yet.
See your school district’s chronic absentee rate HERE.
SOME DISTRICTS STRUGGLING
But not every school district is improving. Bridgeport’s chronic absentee rate actually jumped 5.3% - one of the only districts in the state to rise.
Due to chronic issues, this year the state is overseeing Bridgeport school operations. Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell Tucker worries that the fear of immigration raids could make the absentee problem worse.
“We’ve put out guidance to all our districts about some of the things that they can do to make sure that spaces remain safe for students,” she said.
A new state law requires each school to name an administrator to handle visits from ICE agents. The designated administrator must ask for a warrant signed by a judge – not just an administrative warrant. They must record agents’ names and badge numbers or collect a business card. And any questions must go to a school district’s legal counsel.
HIGHER TEST SCORES
Test scores are up as well.
Across the state, English Language Arts scores rose 0.5%, science scores increased 1.2% and math scores rose 2.5%.
The increases were seen among all ethnic groups.
"When we see broad improvement on a measure like the performance index, not just for all students, but for every student group," SDOE Chief Performance Officer Ajit Gopalakrishnan said. "That's now a sign that our collective efforts are really making a difference."
But again, not everyone is improving. In Stamford, English and math scores were down a bit. And in Bridgeport, there was a slight drop in English scores.
See your school district’s test scores HERE.
