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Lanesborough Elementary Retains Level 1 Ranking
By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
09:35PM / Wednesday, October 19, 2016
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Lanesborough Elementary School has repeatedly hit the Level 1 ranking.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The elementary school has again scored a top level ranking from the state.
 
The scores from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers have placed the school as Level 1. While the school has consistently ranked Level 1 in recent years, what stands out about this year's results is that PARCC was a pilot program that had a clause allowing schools to be held harmless in state accountability.
 
"This is the first time we took the PARCC. It is more rigorous and aligned with the common core than the old MCAS," Principal Martin McEvoy said. "Our students did so well, we didn't need to invoke that held harmless clause."
 
Schools had the option to take the PARCC, which McEvoy said had many differences including timing and the types of questions, as the state looked to revamp its accountability standards. Next year, the state is launching another Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test which incorporates pieces from the PARCC and mixes it with the old MCAS test.
 
McEvoy said PARCC included more critical thinking focused questions, so by having that experience with PARCC students had gotten a taste of the types of questions being incorporated into what is known as MCAS 2.0. 
 
The schools are assessed by the standardized testing scores by a scoring mechanism focused on how well the school is closing proficiency gaps. This year the target for Lanesborough was a score of 75 out 100 and all students scored a 97 while students with high needs scored 100.
 
McEvoy said the success of high-needs students shows the school's focus on performing timely interventions with students who may be falling behind is working. 
 
"It says we are pointing in the right direction as far as individualized instruction," McEvoy said.
 
The scores were fairly consistent in both math and English, the two tests taken for PARCC. McEvoy said the results not only show administration overarching trends but also allows for closer looks at individual students data, as deep as even showing which standards a particular student is struggling with.
 
From there, the teachers hope to provide the additional support each student's needs. 
 
"There are other measures we take serious as well, it is not all about this one test. But we are happy with the results," McEvoy said.
 
The state's assessments are weighted toward schools making improvements in testing scores, so those at the top of the rankings have less wiggle room to improve, thus making it more difficult for a school to retain the Level 1 ranking.
 
"It gets harder every year," McEvoy said.
 
While McEvoy celebrated the results, he said the work is far from complete and the school will continue to look at ways to improve.
 
"The aggregate looks good but we are going to drill down to a more personal level for the kids," McEvoy said.
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