EXCEL ACADEMY RANKED FIRST IN THE
STATE FOR IMPROVING STUDENT PERFORMANCE
Release of state growth data another
indicator of Excel Academy’s Success
[East Boston] – Excel Academy Charter School ranked first in the
state in English and fourth in the state in math for improving
student performance over time and has been identified as a “high
growth” school.
On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE) released a new growth model that measures the
achievement of students across a three-year period and compares a
student’s academic attainment against that of their peer group. In
the aggregate, Excel Academy students grew at the 86th percentile in
English language arts, meaning Excel Academy students progressed at
a faster rate than 86 percent of their peers statewide. In math,
Excel Academy students grew at the 83rd percentile, outpacing the
improvements of their statewide peers by a rate of 83 percent.
“At Excel Academy we are committed to providing the highest quality
instruction and individualized support to ensure that all students
can achieve at high levels,” said Rebecca Cass, Excel Academy’s
Interim Executive Director. “These results demonstrate that our
commitment helps each child make significant academic gains year
after year.”
Earlier this year, DESE released results from the Spring 2009 MCAS
examinations, a measure of absolute performance in achieving state
content standards. Excel Academy students posted some of the highest
scores in the state, earning them first place rankings on both the
8th grade English Language Arts and math examinations. The school’s
MCAS achievements, coupled with its growth results, earned Excel
Academy the DESE’s “high achievement, high growth” school
designation.
This is the first time Massachusetts has used a growth model to
evaluate student performance. The results measure individual student
progress on the state's assessment test by tracking the scores from
one year to the next. Whereas basic test results reflect how a
student performed on a particular assessment, growth reports detail
how much the student's performance has changed over time compared to
students with similar test score histories.
Excel Academy Charter School (www.excelacademy.org) is a
tuition-free, public middle school serving East Boston and Chelsea.
Our mission is to prepare students to succeed in high school and
college, apply their learning to solve relevant problems and engage
productively in our communities. Excel currently serves 211 students
in grades five through eight, of which two-thirds are Latino and
low-income. We are significantly impacting the trajectories of our
students as scholars, citizens and community leaders by teaching
them to learn, lead, and excel.
