Principal Tara Barnes, right, reviews the school's PARCC scores with the School Committee on Thursday. Clarksburg was rated a Level 1 school by the state.
Barnes pointed out that there are still gaps - between the blue line and red dot - that have to be closed.
The new report cards for Grades K-5 will be based on numbers correlating to skill levels.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Clarksburg School has achieved a Level 1 status based on last spring's standardized tests.
"Staff and teachers really worked hard over a number of years to reach this level," Superintendent Jon Lev said at Thursday's School Committee meeting.
The levels, running from 1 to 5, are based on the percentage of students mastering proficiency levels in English-Language Arts and math in the lower grades. Level 1 is the highest that can be achieved.
Clarksburg has been administering the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests, or PARCC, for the past two years. Some students also took the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.
In a letter sent home to parents this week, Principal Tara Barnes said, "after many years of Level 2 status at Clarksburg, this is a great accomplishment to move to Level 1. It reflects the many years of hard work by the entire school staff and the perseverance of our students to meet high expectations. ...
"I think our test scores reflect our commitment to provide a high-quality educational experience for all of our students."
The school also earned extra credit for reducing the percentage of students failing and increasing the percent advancing.
Barnes told the committee that she felt that student preparation and creating a positive environment surrounding the tests were critical to the higher scores by helping reduce anxiety.
"That helps a lot, just setting the tone, which I thank the Student Council for and the staff," she said, but added, "We can really celebrate a lot of success but we're not done, we're not done until every student meets their goal."
The state sets that goal, Barnes said, showing the committee members the percentages as calculated by the state. A blue line showed progress and a red square the goal; in some cases they met, in others, the blue line passed the square. But there were still areas where the line didn't quite reach.
"This shows some of the gaps. We still have to move and grow but I think we're in a really good spot. ... we're trying to close any gaps we have and meet that red dot."
The school has developed or adopted a number of programs, including one last year for math, that seem to be paying off.
"I think we have definitely done something to make a difference," Barnes said. "A lot of it was just fantastic teaching at Clarksburg."
The state is expected to offer what's being called MCAS 2.0, a combination of PARCC and the current system, this spring.
"We feel we're very well prepared having taken PARCC for two years for whatever they come up with for MCAS," she said.
In other business, Barnes updated the committee on the recent parent open house designed to inform parents about curriculum, policies, technology in use at the school and other aspects of the school year.
Among those updates is the change in the way report cards are done. Currently handwritten on carbon paper, the reports will be handled through the school's new online Rediker management system. Grading up to Grade 5 will also change from a mix of checks and letter grades to numbers of 1 through 4, with 4 "exceeding expectations."
"We were really defining standards last year so we can put it in our report cards ... for this skill are they meeting their expectations at that grade level," the principal said. "It's been a lot of work and the teachers have really taken this one and done a wonderful job with this."
Grades 6-8 will continue receiving a percentage grade.
• The Berkshire Family YMCA will be offering afterschool programs at the school and will hire teachers or assistants interested in working the programs. The fees will be on a sliding scale and families can opt to have their children attend the Y in North Adams in cases of school closures. Barnes said they will also be able to get memberships.
• The School Committee will take up the subject of substitute teacher-assistant pay at its next meeting at the request of a sub. The school union raised wages for substitute teachers last year.
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