Report cards help parents/guardians and the general public see where schools and districts
are succeeding and where there is still work to do. This report card overview answers important questions about our school's performance. For the full
report card containing additional data contact the school's principal or visit the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu. For more information about report card data, visit our Profiles Help page.
How is our school doing overall?
Accountability and assistance levels
Our school
Students in this school participated in 2017 Next Generation MCAS tests
Our district
Students in grades 3-8 participated in 2017 Next Generation MCAS tests
Most schools are assigned a level from 1-5, with those meeting their proficiency gap-narrowing goals in Level 1 and the lowest performing in Levels 4 and 5.
A district is typically assigned a level based on the level of its lowest performing school. Placing schools and districts into levels helps districts know which schools need more support,
and helps the state know which districts need the most assistance.
More information is available here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/accountability/
School percentile
School percentiles (1-99) indicate how a school is performing overall compared to other schools that
serve the same or similar grades. Our school's percentile is below.
Lowest performing
Highest performing
Overall progress in narrowing gaps
Massachusetts aims to reduce proficiency gaps by half between 2011 and 2017.
All students
-
High needs students
-
Economically disadvantaged
-
Students with disabilities
English language learners & former ELLs
How does our school's achievement over time compare to the district and the state?
Next Generation MCAS (Average Scaled Score)
English language arts - Grades 3-8
Mathematics - Grades 3-8
Not Meeting Expectations
Partially Meeting Expectations
Meeting Expectations
Exceeding Expectations
Not Meeting Expectations
Partially Meeting Expectations
Meeting Expectations
Exceeding Expectations
Legacy MCAS (CPI)
The Composite Performance Index (CPI) is a number from 1-100 that represents the extent to which all students are progressing toward proficiency in a given subject. When all students demonstrate proficiency on MCAS and/or PARCC tests, the CPI will be 100. Our school's CPIs for 2014-2017 are below.
Science
2014
2015
2016
2017
Our school
67.4
69.0
67.6
63.3
Middle Schools in our district
71.2
71.5
67.5
67.6
Middle Schools in MA
74.7
74.8
73.4
72.7
How does our school's growth compare to the district and the state?
Transitional Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) measure gains in student achievement from year to year.
SGPs between 40 and 60 represent moderate growth. Our school's median SGPs for 2017 are below. (Note: Growth values are truncated.)
English language arts
Mathematics
Lower growth
Higher growth
1
50
99
Lower growth
Higher growth
1
50
99
Our school
Middle Schools in our district
Middle Schools in MA
How does our school's enrollment compare to the district and the state?
Total enrollment
Our school
Our district
Our state
590
5,543
953,748
Our
school
Middle Schools in our district
Middle Schools in MA
By high needs population
#
%
#
%
#
%
Economically disadvantaged students
222
37.6
388
31.5
46,310
26.9
Students with disabilities
127
21.5
245
19.9
30,164
17.5
English language learners
35
5.9
37
3.0
10,274
6.0
How do our school's teachers and classrooms compare to the district and the state?
General information
Our
school
Middle Schools in our district
Middle Schools in MA
Teachers (#)
49.5
101.5
13,552.4
Core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers (%)
84.5
78.5
96.7
Average class size (#)
18.9
18.6
19.1
Student : teacher ratio
11.9 to 1
12.1 to 1
12.6 to 1
How is our school doing on other important measures?
Attendance
Our
school
Middle Schools in our district
Middle Schools in MA
2017 Attendance rate (%)
94.0
94.5
95.3
2017 Average days absent per student (#)
10.5
9.7
8.2
2017 Chronic absenteeism rate (%)
18.9
14.6
10.8
Discipline
2017 In-school suspension rate (%)
1.5
2.4
2.3
2017 Out-of-school suspension rate (%)
3.7
5.0
3.7
High school completion
Our school
Our district
Our state
2015 5-year graduation rate (%)
-
87.9
89.4
2016 4-year graduation rate (%)
-
85.1
87.5
2016 annual dropout rate (%)
-
2.2
1.9
2015 graduates attending institutions of higher education* (%)
2017 Advanced Placement tests with scores of 3 or higher (%)
-
41.9
65.7
2017 SAT average score - Reading
-
564
552
2017 SAT average score - Writing
-
-
-
2017 SAT average score - Math
-
546
552
2016 MassCore** - Completing a rigorous course of study (%)
-
76.2
77.4
*Postsecondary enrollment data includes any student enrolling in an institution of higher education within 16 months of earning a high school diploma
**MassCore: 4 years of English & math, 3 years of history & lab-based science, 2 years of a foreign language, 1 year of arts & 5 additional "core" courses
What else should you know about our school?
Due to the new generation MCAS, schools in Massachusetts were not leveled for this school year, however they did retain the level rating from the previous school year. In 2016, South Middle School was considered a level three school. This school year, our Administrative Leadership Team undertook high leverage initiatives that would assist the school in moving towards level two status. This year teachers were asked to identify students who are near performance level cusps and to focus enrichment and remediation for those students in a systemic manner. More time for enrichment and remediation were built into our school schedule in what we call extended blocks. This school year we also have made a commitment to improve our efforts in the area of inclusive educational practices. We believe that by including all students in the regular classroom setting, using proper supports and accommodations, that we can improve learning for all students in our school. This will specifically work towards improving learning for many of our MCAS subgroups. Through the use of our PBIS framework and through our efforts to implement a consistent behavioral plan for all students, we have seen improvement in our school climate. Finally, our faculty has made a concerted effort to improve school to home communication. Specifically, teachers have implemented a communication system that provides unsolicited, positive communication between school and homes. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Main Office or our school principal, Paul Newton (paul.newton@schoolsofwestfield.org).
