Watertown Public Schools
30 Common Street, Watertown MA 02472
WPS Report Cards
December 2007Dear Watertown Parent /Resident:
We are pleased to share with you the sixth annual Report Card for the Watertown Public Schools. The federal legislation, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requires all states, school districts, and schools to report student assessment results and teacher qualifications to the community on an annual basis. This report card contains information for our school district and its schools including: Educator Data, Accountability Status, and Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results. The information in the report card is very detailed, but here is a snapshot for your review.
Educator Data: This includes information about teacher quality as measured by licensure. One hundred percent of PlaceNameWatertown PlaceTypePublic School teachers are licensed to teach in placeStateMassachusetts, and they are highly qualified in their core academic subjects.
Accountability Status: The adequate yearly progress report (AYP) measures whether or not we are meeting a national goal of all students being proficient in mathematics and English by the year 2014. We are making significant gains in meeting AYP, but the results are still mixed for a few specific sub groups.
For 2007 in English Language Arts (ELA): grades 9-12 have met AYP in the aggregate but not in the subgroup of Low Income; grades 6-8 have met AYP in the aggregate and in all subgroups; grades 3-5 have met AYP in the aggregate but not in the subgroup of Special Education.
In Mathematics: grades 3-12 have met AYP in the aggregate and in all subgroups except for Special Education and Low Income at grades 3-5.
When a school or subgroup is not meeting AYP, it is identified for improvement. The Hosmer Elementary School was identified for improvement in math. The Middle School has for the first time in five years met all of its AYP goals. One more year of meeting all AYP goals and the Middle School will no longer be identified for improvement. At all the schools we continue to address the learning needs of our diverse learners through targeted curriculum initiatives, professional development, and academic programming.
MCAS Results: placeStateMassachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results are one measure of student achievement and in consideration with other forms of assessment both formal and informal, help teachers and administrators understand how to change classroom practice to improve student learning. Over the past several years our MCAS results have showed progress, especially at the high school level. Our analysis at the elementary and middle school levels is informing our curriculum programming in both math and English Language Arts. We are also embarking on a review of the Science and Technology curriculum K-12. Along with the annual District and School Report Cards, a detailed account of important Watertown Public Schools data, including our MCAS results 2000 - 2007, is available on the District website.
The purpose of the annual District and School Report Cards is to give parents and residents information about the schools in terms of academic achievement of students and professional qualifications of teachers. Please review the complete and detailed annual District Report Card for placeCityWatertown, and each of the annual School Report Cards, at http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/info/pub/report_card/index.html
If you have questions, please contact the Superintendent's Office.
Sincerely,
Steven A. Hiersche