Avon Schools Score High in New Connecticut School Performance Database

Connecticut Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor announced Monday that the state Department of Education has launched a new database intended to provide the public with information on performance by school and town.

That includes School Performance Index numbers and graduation rates, according to a press release from the state's education department.

On average, students at all five Avon public schools score at or above goal level for all tests taken, according to the database, as made accessible on the Hartford Courant's website.

“The state’s new school accountability and support framework enables more precise, more helpful snapshots of school performance,” Pryor said in a press release. “By heralding schools making significant progress and highlighting schools in need of greater support, the system will also help districts and the state focus our efforts where they are needed most.”

The school performance index included in the database measures "an average of student performance in all tested grades and subjects for a given school—allows for the evaluation of school performance across all tested grades, subjects and performance levels on the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT)," the press release stated.

The database helps track "student growth and performance across all grade levels" rather than "percentage of students scoring at the proficient level" thanks to a federal waiver the state applied for and obtained "from certain aspects of No Child Left Behind," according to the press release. Other improvements the system offers are incorporating science and writing in the rating process and heightening "expectations for schools to address achievement gaps between students subgroups," the release stated.

Avon schools rate as follows in the School Performance Index, according to the Hartford Courant: