Across public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, MCAS academic testing measures student achievement in English Language Arts, Math and Science. Based on the Spring results for the third year in a row, LFDCS ranks as a Level 1 School. Only 19% of Districts and 26% of public schools across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts earned Level 1 status this year.As specific highlights, at every grade level LFDCS students outperformed the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ students in English Language Arts (ELA). In seventh grade, 90% of LFDCS students scored Proficient or Advanced on the ELA MCAS test.
In Math, achievement was also very strong--the largest gap between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and LFDCS was in third grade Math. Across the Commonwealth, 68% of third grade students scored Proficient or Higher and at LFDCS ninety-three percent of third grade students scored Proficient or Higher on the Math MCAS test. Of that 93%, 58% of third graders scored Advanced in Math. Superintendent Ralph Carrero was delighted to learn that twelve third grade students earned perfect scores in the Math MCAS test. These scores were of great pride to the third grade teaching team, as well as their teaching colleagues in earlier grades.
LFDCS's school-wide Composite Performance Index (CPI) for ELA was 91.1 and school-wide Composite Performance Index (CPI) for Math was 87.5. These are the highest ELA and Math CPIs that LFDCS has earned in the past five years. Since last year, LFDCS has made a 1.9 gain in ELA and a 0.9 gain in Math and since 2010, LFDCS has made a 9.8 gain in ELA and an 8.4 gain in Math.
According to LFDCS Principal, Dr. Susan Earabino, "the success of the students earning tremendous scores could not have been achieved without talented and dedicated teachers." Dr. Earabino eagerly shared information about the factors which contribute to LFDCS’ student success: teacher planning, mentoring and dedication. “We look for rigor throughout the grades, individualize our instruction, and also use looping which allows teachers to manage small classes in a highly personalized way.” Complementing school year efforts are: summer programs, enrichment programs, onsite school gardens to increase awareness of food choices and nutrition, as well as interesting STEM activities which encourage critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Lawrence Family Development Charter School is also closing the achievement gap for Hispanic students, 99% of whom are Hispanic. The school is outperforming Hispanic students across the state. For example, in seventh and eighth grade Math, the percent of students who scored Proficient or Higher at LFDCS is more than double that of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Hispanic students.
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HISPANICS – STATE VERSUS LFDCS
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GRADE
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ELA- STATE
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ELA-LFDCS
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MATH-STATE
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MATH-LFDCS
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3
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34%
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72%
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50%
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93%
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4
|
31%
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63%
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33%
|
59%
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5
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40%
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68%
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38%
|
55%
|
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6
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45%
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79%
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37%
|
71%
|
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7
|
49%
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90%
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26%
|
61%
|
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8
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58%
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88%
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29%
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69%
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SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS
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