As a part of our remediation program for students who struggle with MCAS in grade ten, we offer courses in both English Language Arts and Mathematics that will support students in their efforts to reach proficiency and receive a CHS diploma. Experienced adult tutors are also provided during the school day for juniors and seniors who have struggled with achieving success on one or more portions of MCAS. I am pleased to note that all of our current juniors and seniors who participated in regular MCAS testing have met their MCAS requirement and, with successful completion of CHS graduation requirements, will earn their diplomas.

Under NCLB, all teachers in every public school must be both licensed to teach in the Commonwealth and HIGHLY QUALIFIED demonstrating by federal standards, competence in the core academic subject they teach. This year, 44% of the 48 classroom teachers and four full-time members of the student support services department have advanced degrees. The percent of teachers at CHS certified in Massachusetts is 100%, and the percent of CHS teachers in core academic subject areas who are HIGHLY QUALIFIED is 100%.

We continue to commit ourselves to the recommendations made as a result of the self-study/accreditation process required for membership in the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. As a part of that process, the faculty of CHS is making great progress on developing our written and taught curriculum and strengthening our total school program. We welcome the guidelines of NCLB to support our mission and our determination to improve each year as a school community.

Kathleen Spencer

Principal

The performance of the Class of 2006, our current juniors, on the English Language Arts portion of MCAS, EXCEEDED the target goal established under No Child Left Behind for improvement. The graph below demonstrates exactly the progress we want to see for our students. The number of students who FAILED, or who were noted as, IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT decreased; the number of students who attained PROFICIENT and ADVANCED STANDING increased. In addition, the number of CHS students who FAILED or who were noted as IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT was below the state average of students in those categories; and the number of CHS students who placed in the PROFICIENT or ADVANCED categories was above the state average.

It is important to note that the information presented in this chart does not measure the growth of the same group of students from one year to the next; the chart compares, in this case, the scores of our current seniors who tested in 2003 with our current juniors who tested in 2004.

We have met our Adequate Yearly Progress goal in English Language Arts, a goal set by both NCLB and the Education Reform Act of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

• Ninety-nine percent of our students took part in MCAS testing.

• CHS students exceeded the Massachusetts performance target for the current testing period.

• CHS students improved at a rate that would indicate, with effective effort, that all future students will reach proficiency by 2014.

• 98% of the Class of 2006 has met their competency determination for a CHS diploma.

Adequate Yearly Progress is measured for each of the following sub-groups if ten or more students fall into that sub-group: Limited English Proficient, Special Education, Low Income, African American/Black, Asian or Pacific Island, Hispanic, Native American, and White students. Because of our limited numbers of students in most of these sub-groups, Adequate Yearly Progress was only measured for the sub groups of Low Income and White and for the total number of students in the population tested in May of 2004. All students in each of these categories met the Massachusetts performance target for that testing period.

As indicated on the chart below, the performance of the Class of 2006, our current juniors, is a reflection of commitment to continued improvement. Again, the graph demonstrates exactly the progress parent/guardian(s), faculty, students and the community want to see. The number of students who FAILED or were noted as IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT decreased; the number of students who received PROFICIENT and ADVANCED standing increased. We are particularly pleased with the significant improvement from test results in 2003 to test results in 2004, as made clear by the bar graph. This progress rests on a strong foundation of rigorous teacher-made and shared curriculum, analysis of test data from previous years, and student commitment to mastery of test-taking strategies.

It is important to note that the information presented in this chart does not measure the growth of the same group of students from one year to the next; the chart compares, in this case, the scores of our current seniors who were tested in 2003 with our current juniors who were tested in 2004.