Danbury and Bethel school officials jumped for joy hearing the results of the state math, reading and writing tests that showed the progress their third- through eighth-graders made.
New Milford and New Fairfield educators were grateful for patches of improvement on the annual Connecticut Mastery Tests given in the spring, but saw clear areas that need work.

"Our master plan has really come together,'' Bethel Superintendent Gary Chesley said. "We have to take our hats off to our students and our teachers who have worked very hard not only on the test but to have and be better students."
For instance, in third grade, the percent of students at goal in math increased from 84 percent in 2008 to 90 percent this year, and in sixth grade from 82 percent to 88 percent.
In the writing portion, Bethel's third grade bucked the state trend by increasing the number at goal from 78 percent to 89 percent this year. In grade 8, the number increased from 73 percent to 83 percent.
"We did a little comparison, and we did very well in the region compared with other districts with more money," Chesley said. "We're very happy."
Compared with 2008, Connecticut's third- through eighth-graders improved in all areas tested except grade 3 writing.
The results include science tests for fifth- and eighth-graders. They will be used to calculate which schools satisfy the requirements of federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
Most districts focus on students reaching the state goal of mastery in tested subjects. The state uses the less-rigorous proficiency standard to determine whether a school satisfies NCLB.
Danbury scores improved at nearly every grade level tested.
"It's really notable growth," Deputy Superintendent William Glass said. "A big part of it is we have had stability of leadership in the elementary schools, so the implementation of the instructional vision has had time to mature."
Monthly meetings with principals to hear about student progress, areas of concern and plans for remediation have kept the focus on instruction, he said.
He's also adding staff training at grade levels to help examine what works and what doesn't with concrete examples.
"It's an increased level of accountability," Glass said. "We can see that if everyone pulls in the same direction, despite the loss of personnel and resources, there can be progress."
In math, the best scores in Danbury showed in third grade, where the number of students at goal increased from 54 to 64; in sixth grade, from 59 to 70, and in eighth grade, from 46 to 55.
In reading, the best scores were in third grade with the increase of students at goal, up from 39 to 47; in fourth grade, up from 46 to 51; sixth grade, from 54 to 62; and seventh grade, from 61 to 68.
The percent who reached goal on the writing test improved at many grade levels.
Brookfield scores were strong, Superintendent Anthony Bivona said.
Bivona was especially proud of the 89 percent of eighth-graders who reached the goal in math.
"We're doing very well, but we don't want to stay the same," Bivona said. "The faculty work very hard at improving the scores."
In Ridgefield, eighth-graders produced the most consistent gains, with increases on all four academic tests, Assistant Superintendent Patricia Michael said.
She found increases in math scores at every grade level, and reading scores improved in all grades except sixth.
Ridgefield's writing scores improved only in seventh and eighth grades. Science performance declined slightly in fifth grade, but improved substantially in eighth.
"We know we're moving in the right direction. We'd like to see great leaps," Michael said.
With changes in place in curriculum and instruction, she said, she expects to see substantial gains by 2010.
Newtown students showed improvement at every grade level in math and reading, except in third grade reading. The town's seventh grade reading scores went from 85 percent reaching goal in 2008 to 95 percent this year.
Redding students improved at all grade levels except for some small declines in the third and fifth grades. Redding sixth graders soared in math, reading and writing, with a jump from 86 percent to 92 percent at goal in math and 83 percent to 96 percent in reading.
"It reflects a great deal of improvement in the design of our curriculum, the increase in academic rigor, the focus on instructional grade-specific academic standards and the ongoing collaboration between teachers and administrators," Easton/Redding Region 9 Superintendent Allen Fossbender said.
Assistant Superintendent Marie Mas said the results continue five years of improvement.
Fossbender emphasized that rigorous, relevant curriculum delivered uniformly enriches the educational experience of the children, and its derivative is the superior test results.
Sherman made significant gains in third grade math from 69 percent to 81 percent and dipped in reading at sixth grade and in math and reading at eighth grade, though its small population tested makes it harder to establish trends.
New Fairfield and New Milford officials were less happy with their results.
"The performance is variable. We're concerned," New Milford Superintendent JeanAnn Paddyfote said. Especially with fourth grade, where the number at goal in math dipped from 63 percent to 51 percent. "We can improve. There is no question about that," she said.But third grade had a strong showing.
Their percentage at goal jumped from 63 percent to 70 percent in math and 69 percent to 79 percent in reading. Fifth grade students increased from 63 percent at goal to 76 percent in reading, and also improved their writing and science scores.
The percentage of sixth graders at goal dipped a little in reading and math, while eighth graders dipped a little in math but improved in reading.
New Fairfield Superintendent Joseph Castagnola said he was dismayed by his reading scores, because it was an area of focus for the district. In math, all but fourth grade increased their numbers at goal. In reading, only seventh grade had more students at goal than last year. "We were disappointed," Castagnola said. "What we're seeing is that students do well on school- based assessment, but results don't manifest themselves on the CMTs." 
His staff will look at other approaches, even visiting more successful districts. "We want to see what they are doing that we are not doing," Castagnola said.
Contact Eileen FitzGerald
or at (203) 731-3333.