Old Colony Archives
Area voc-techs making gains
By Becky W. Evans, Standard-Times staff writer
Sept. 29, 2005
SouthCoast vocational high schools showed across-the-board improvement in MCAS scores, according to 2005 test results released yesterday by the state Department of Education.
The boost in scores is the result of creative programs that have integrated academic lessons into technical classes in carpentry, culinary skills, welding and other occupations, school officials said.
"You know, we have a lot of good kids that do well enough, but academics isn't their bent," said David J. Tobin, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators.
"By making adjustments, we tie academics to their vocational area, where it has some relevance in either math or English," Mr. Tobin said. "It relates to success in your occupation."
In past years, Mr. Tobin admitted, "We were out of whack." Vocational-technical schools had a lot of readjusting to do to meet MCAS frameworks while occupational studies competed for students' time.
"We very clearly got the message that we have to focus on this, so we made a concerted effort," he said. "We had summer conferences and training of new teachers, and are tracking information on students."
The hard work paid off for area vocational schools: Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, New Bedford; Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, Rochester; Upper Cape Cod Technical High School, Bourne; Diman Regional Vocational-Technical High School, Fall River; and Bristol County Agricultural High School, Dighton.
All the schools had increases in the percentage of Grade 10 students who scored in the advanced and proficient levels for English language arts and math, with the exception of Upper Cape Cod, where proficiency in English fell slightly from 47 percent to 45 percent; and Bristol County Agricultural, where the advanced level for mathematics remained steady at 26 percent.
An enrollment boom at technical schools around the state might help explain the higher test scores, said David J. Ferreira, superintendent/director of Old Colony, which serves students from Rochester, Lakeville, Acushnet, Carver, Freetown and Mattapoisett.
With bigger waiting lists, schools can be more selective by accepting the students who have the best grades, Mr. Ferreira said.
"If you have a large talent pool and you take the best players, you're going to have the best team," he said.
Greater New Bedford Superintendent Michael R. Shea praised elementary and middle schools in New Bedford, Fairhaven and Dartmouth for better preparing his students for MCAS exams.
"Area schools are doing a better job. ... The process is working better now for Grades K through 12 than it did a couple of years ago," Mr. Shea said.
In a few years, vocational high schools also will face statewide achievement tests for occupational training. An effort is under way to design a statewide curriculum for each occupation to ensure that schools teach the same skills, Mr. Ferreira said.
The next step will be creating standardized tests to evaluate a student's expertise in their chosen occupation, he said. The tests will include a written portion and a performance evaluation.
Unlike MCAS exams, students will not be required to pass the occupational test to graduate, he added.
"If you are a welder, it will tell whether you have entry-level skills or more than that," he said. "It will help employers."
Standard-Times senior correspondent Steve Urbon contributed to this report.