Threat of Winter Storm on Tuesday Postpones MCAS Testing

Due to the expected winter storm on Tuesday, the state announced that the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25.

  Since much of Massachusetts is expecting a winter storm on Tuesday, and with it the possibility of numerous school closings or delayed openings, the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced on its website.  Originally this composition test was scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, but in an effort to make sure all schools administer the test on the same day, "all schools must administer the ELA Composition test to students in grades 4, 7, and 10 on Monday, March 25, including schools that are not affected by the weather," according to a memo from Elizabeth Davis, Associate Commissioner …

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MCAS Scores Released, One Class Struggles

The MCAS results were released and it's mostly good news- but 4th grade class is struggling.

  MCAS exams for Dedham's public school were released, and the district did well as a whole, but there is one class that is struggling. For Dedham High School there was good news because only 1% failed 10th grade science.  And the majority of students did very well in English and Math- no one failed.  So it was no surprise that the school ranks above average in the commonwealth. The elementary schools were all above average, except for one.  At the Riverdale School, 31% of its 4th grade students failed the English exam- ranking the school 632 out of 936, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education.  However it's important to know that Riverdale students were above average with everything else. The MCAS was taken in the Spring of…

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DMS Ups Ante on Students in Math

Eighth graders will be required to take algebra beginning in the fall.

  All eighth grade students at Dedham Middle School will take algebra beginning next fall and in the future, which means some current seventh graders will skip pre-algebra. "One of the considerations in looking at this is the idea of preparing our students in the best possible way of raising our student achievement," DMS principal Debra Gately said. The switch comes as DMS administrators look to improve MCAS test scores and better prepare students for high school, administrators said. The changes are part of plan to align the school for accreditation and with the Common Core standards, which led to other changes in the school's curriculum. Assistant principal Margo Fraczek said teachers are aware of it this year, and are prepping current …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: Nov. 2

Today's weather, Dedham Food Pantry on Twitter and School Committee meets.

"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 

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Letter to the Editor: Oakdale Students Shine on MCAS

Hard work from teachers, administrators and students lead to great MCAS scores in 2011.

As the parent of a 2010 - 2011 Oakdale Elementary fifth grader, I feel obligated to write this letter. Much like the other families in town with school age children, we recently received last years MCAS test results. As the scores of the English, math and science tests became public, the talk around town turned to the schools and individual teachers. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to have spent a fair amount of time volunteering in the schools. I have seen first hand how much "pressure" is on everyone involved with the MCAS test. I've also seen how hard superintendent June Doe, her administrators, the school principals and students work in order to do well. Entering her seventh year as principal of the Oakdale …

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Dedham Elementary Schools Tackle English Scores

Principals laid out plans for improving English-language arts scores for the 2012 MCAS.

Dedham elementary students will get a boost from schools this year as the district looks to improve English-language arts MCAS scores. Elementary principals laid out a comphrensive plan Wednesday evening to the Dedham School Committee aimed to reverse ELA results. Three of the four elementary schools failed to meet adaquate yearly progress (AYP) in ELA for the aggregate. Oakdale Elementary School was the only to meet AYP, and in fact was the only school in the district to meet AYP for all subgroups and in the aggregate in both ELA and math. As part of the changes, elementary schools will add skill-building sessions after school to help kids improve their ELA skills, Avery School principal Clare Sullivan said. A similar program for math …

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Question of the Day: MCAS, NCLB and You

Let us know your thoughts on MCAS tests and NCLB in the comment section.

For the second year, Avery Elementary School parents are given the option to transfer their student to another elementary school within the district. Last year, when given the choice, eight families took the option, and principal Clare Sullivan said at the time all eight were new to the school. But, with hundreds of schools in Massachusetts falling short of  adaquate yearly progress goals on MCAS scores, many schools are facing hurdles in meeting requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind law. What are your thoughts on the NCLB mandates and how do you measure if your student is succeeding in math and English? Let us know your opinion in the comment section below.

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Moms Talk Q&A

Moms Talk: Helping Your Student Relax After MCAS

Taking standardized tests can be stressful on any student, so how can parents help kids take a break once they get home from school?

Moms Talk is a feature on Dedham Patch that is part of an initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families. Dedham Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and th eir families right here in Dedham. Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions. Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children. Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you …

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Alex Shumway

11:35 am on Thursday, March 31, 2011

More of the same from my end...I talked to my son beforehand about it being just a test, take your time, if you get "writers block" (as his mom does frequently), don't get fed up; just relax, write down whatever comes to your mind and see if it spurs something. After the test i had him call his buddy and play outside. Had I thought ahead, we might have hit Ron's...but mostly, just let the kids do…   more ›

EduNation: A Patch Report on Local Schools

After Avoiding Multiple Layoffs, Dedham to Use Grant Money to Hire 3 Teachers

The School Committee approved a plan last week that will hire three teachers for the current school year.

Editor's note: This story is part of a nationwide Patch series probing the economy's effect on local schools. Dedham schoolteachers lucked out in the last budget cycle, unlike many school districts across the Commonwealth and the country. That means that $275,000 designated to hire back laid off teachers can be used in other necessary places from now until the first quarter of fiscal year 2013. "Dedham was very fortunate not to have layoffs, that's not typical for the area," said Dedham Education Association president Timothy Dwyer. "[We] seemed to have weathered the storm a bit better than other communities." Dedham School Committee members voted unanimously to go along with the plan set out by Michael LaFrancesca, assistant …

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