Student Assessment Profile
Marblehead Community Charter Public School
School Description: The Marblehead Community Charter Public School is located in
Marblehead and serves 173 students in grades 5 through 8. This school utilizes a curriculum built
around interdisciplinary projects inspired by the Coalition of Essential Schools -- student projects are
connected through common school themes, with a special emphasis on community involvement. Parents and
community members founded MCCPS.
Years of operation: 2
School-level Accountability:
Marblehead Community Charter Public School (MCCPS) relies heavily on student exhibitions as a means of
measuring student progress. Four times per year, students are challenged to present their work to the
school community. The faculty have also developed a portfolio assessment system aligned with the MCCPS
competencies.
In addition, MCCPS administers the Stanford-9 each spring and will participate in MCAS.
Analysis:
What is the academic performance level of students entering this charter school?
Average.
-
Scores were above average as compared to national norms;
but, about the same as those of the Marblehead Public School District.
In sum, those students that entered the Marblehead Community Charter Public School performed higher than
national norms, but on par with the Marblehead Public School District.
Have the students in this charter school made academic gains?
Inconclusive Gains.
-
Based on the Stanford-8 to Stanford-9 Normal Curve Equivalent conversion scores, MCCPS appears to have
made inconsistent gains in grades 5 - 7;
however, as the note on the next page indicates, since MCCPS moved from the Stanford-8 to the
Stanford-9, scores should be viewed with caution and preferably not used for drawing conclusions about
performance. Valid comparisons will be possible after the second and subsequent administrations of the
Stanford-9.
In sum, the MCCPS academic gains in its second year are inconclusive.
Marblehead Community Charter Public School Stanford-8 & 9 Test Scores
| Grade | Subject | Entering Population
Fall 1995
Stanford-8
National Percentiles | Charter School Gains
1995 - 1996
Stanford-8 & 9
Normal Curve Equivalents |
|---|
| Charter School | District
Spring '96 | Fall 1995
Stan.9 Conv.* | Fall 1996
Stan.-9 | Diff.
NCE |
|---|
| 4 | Reading | -- | 65-76 | -- | -- | -- |
| Language | -- | 64-74 | -- | -- | -- |
| Math | -- | 65-79 | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 | Reading | 81 | -- | 66 | 62 | (4) |
| Language | 68 | -- | 59 | 57 | (2) |
| Math | 67 | -- | 53 | 57 | 4 |
| 6 | Reading | 67 | -- | 60 | 66 | 6 |
| Language | 74 | -- | 65 | 61 | 4 |
| Math | 71 | -- | 70 | 63 | (7) |
| 7 | Reading | 75 | 82 | 58 | 61 | 3 |
| Language | 76 | 74 | 69 | 59 | (10) |
| Math | 74 | 82 | 66 | 59 | (7) |
Notes:
* These scores represent conversions of Stanford-8 scores to Stanford-9 scores.
- Harcourt Brace & Co., the publisher of the Stanford tests released a report that asserts that
"apparent drops (or increases), [when changing from the Stanford 8 to Stanford 9]...are not necessarily
real decreases (or increases) in student achievement. [This is called] the 'changing norms
phenomenon.'" The report states further that, "schools should avoid comparing scores from different
tests and norm sets to draw conclusions about changes in performance. Schools should rely on
...subsequent administrations of the new test to draw valid conclusions about trends or growth."
(Stanford 9 Report: The Changing Norms Phenomenon. Harcourt Brace & Company, San Antonio, Texas,
1997.)
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last updated: January 1, 1997
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