On hand for special recognition of Davisville Middle Schools's academic accomplishments were (l-r) James DiPrete, chairman of the state Board of Regents; Superintendent Dr. James Halley, Ella Whaley, teacher and coordinator for RI Midlevel Educators, Rep. Melvoid Benson; Principal Jane Kondon and Peter McWalters, state commissioner of education.
Peter McWalters, state commissioner of education, and James DiPrete, chairman of the Board of Regents re, recently visited Davisville Middle School to recognize the outstanding job the school has done as reflected by the state testing program and to discover some of the keys to the school's success. The visitors met with the school improvement team, visited several classrooms, and enjoyed a luncheon with the DMS staff.
While most of the middle schools in the state show little or no improvement last year, Davisville stood out as one of the exceptions. Test results revealed both high performance and a clear pattern of improvement over time for Davisville. The tests, administered in the spring of 2001, measured English language arts skills and mathematics skills of eighth graders and the writing skills of seventh graders. Fifty-seven percent of the students at DMS met or exceeded the standard in writing conventions compared with 47 percent statewide. In math skills the scores were considerably above the state average with 68 percent of the students meeting or surpassing the standard. The statewide average was 55 per cent.
The full testing report for 2001,2002, 2003 can be viewed at Information Works. Davisville has continued to perform exceptionally well on the state assessments. In both 2002 and 2003 it has been designated as a high performing and improving school.