Well, the 2009 MCAS results have gone public and the Cape Cod Times has done it again. They devoted a whole page to the Cape and Islands schools' results allowing for the obvious comparisons to be made be readers. Hopefully those who scan the scores and draw conclusions about the deficiencies or merits of one school over another will understand that these scores only represent one small slice of what truly defines a school. Admittedly, they are a critical slice as they determine who will ultimately receive a diploma or not.
For Chatham, our students' results were outstanding. We improved overall and had over 90% of our students in Advanced or Proficient in all three areas. Most spectacular were our Science scores where 55% of our current juniors scored in the Advanced category. As principal of a small school where only 50 students take the tests each year, I know all too well that there can be wide fluctuation from year to year as each student represents 2%. However, I have to say to all who will listen, I am very pleased with this years results, but more importantly, I am so very proud of this junior class and all of their teachers. Together we have worked hard to improve. The teachers spent hours analyzing data and modifying their curriculum and the students took the tests seriously and did their best, which is all we ever asked of them.
I am so proud of our students and their performance that I wanted to recognize them in a special way. So, yesterday at lunch in the cafeteria I congratulated them in front of the whole school. As a token of recognition, we presented each junior with a voucher good for one ticket to the October Homecoming dance. That same voucher is also going to get them a free lunch today on me as as small way of saying, "Thanks for your great effort on the MCAS tests and for making us so proud."
That brings me to my last point. I am pleased that we received some publicity in this morning's Cape Cod Times but I was disheartened to read of my alleged quote on page one about giving students a reward for their performance. The truth is, I never said that. In fact, I went out of my way to point out in my conversation with Mr. Brennan that this was not a reward but a simple celebratory recognition for all of the juniors. I know it may seem like a matter of semantics, but I am not a big fan of material rewards, believing that the most meaningful rewards are those which are intrinsic. If I felt that some material reward would boost MCAS scores I'd be springing for a free trip to Disney World not a six dollar ticket to a dance! Our students are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. The tickets and lunch are just icing on the cake. Knowing that their hard work, dedication, and effort resulted in their own personal success and in an MCAS performance that placed our school community - our students, teachers, and parents - among the top 15% of all of the schools in the Commonwealth should be the real reward. I know it is for me.
As always, I would like to know what you think.
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I was very pleased to see the positive coverage this morning, too, and I understand your point about rewards. I am sure the students are justifiably proud of their accomplishments, as should everyone be who helped them achieve the goal they did! Kudos to all involved -- it really is a team effort. That means you, too, Paul!
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