CREC Magnet Schools
Achievement Highlights
CREC Proves State’s Sheff Funds Well Spent: Achievement Gap Continues to Disappear in
CREC Magnet Schools
The results of the 2012 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) confirm that
the state’s financing of CREC Magnet Schools as a means to eradicate the country’s largest achievement gaps was an
intelligent investment. Serving 30% white students, 33% black students, 28% Hispanic students, and 47% students eligible for
free and reduced price lunch, CREC Magnet Schools are more racially and economically diverse than the state. In keeping
with previous years’ trends, CREC Magnet Schools in 2012 showed dramatic results for the state’s most disenfranchised
populations, while continuing to outperform the state on the CMT and CAPT in virtually all areas.
Under the Sheff Settlement, CREC Students Outperform State Averages
CREC Magnet Schools have demonstrated that racially and economically integrated schools can guarantee equitable
and high achievement for all students. CREC students outperformed the state in virtually all areas and for all
subgroups on the CMT and CAPT.
On the CMT and CAPT, black and Hispanic students from Hartford who attend CREC Magnet Schools
outperformed their peers across state in the percentage scoring at or above Proficient in both math and reading. For
example, 76.4 percent of black Hartford resident students attending a CREC Magnet School achieved proficiency
in reading on the CMT, compared to 64.5 percent of black students statewide.
In 2012, all CREC subgroups (black, white, Hispanic, and students eligible for free and reduced price lunch)
outperformed the state in math and reading in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the state’s
proficiency standard on the CMT and CAPT.
Black students, Hispanic students, and students eligible for free or reduced price lunch outperformed the state in
math and reading in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the higher Goal standard on the CMT and
CAPT.
CREC Magnet Schools Prove High Quality, Integrated Education Boasts High Achievement
for All
Since 2007, CREC Magnet Schools have consistently and significantly reduced the size of Connecticut’s achievement gaps,
and in some cases, have eliminated them completely. CREC’s model for attaining excellence in achievement proves that
integrated schools are capable of closing the largest and most devastating achievement gaps in the country.
In CREC Magnet Schools, there is no achievement gap between white students and Hispanic students in either math
or reading in the 5th grade.
At 5th grade, 100% of the Hispanic students in CREC Magnet Schools met or exceeded the state’s proficiency
standard on CMT reading and math, and 95.5% of Hispanic students met or exceeded the higher Goal standard
in reading.
CREC Magnet Schools Maintain Exceptional Scores While Increasing Enrollment to Meet
Sheff Benchmarks
Department of Communications  111 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106  860-524-4084  www.crec.org
CREC Magnet Schools
Since 2007, in order to assist the state in meeting participation benchmarks under the Sheff Settlement Agreement, CREC
responded to the State Department of Education’s request to increase enrollment in CREC Magnet Schools. In 2012, CREC
tested nearly 1,000 more students on the CMT and CAPT than in 2007. The number of free and reduced price lunch eligible
students taking the CMT in 2012 more than doubled for math and almost doubled for reading since 2007, and the percentage
of eligible students taking the CAPT increased by more than 7 times since 2007. Despite this enormous growth, CREC
sustained exceptional achievement results.
Overall, 86.0% of CREC Magnet School students met or exceeded the state’s proficiency standard on CMT
reading, 87.3% on CMT math, 81.4% on CAPT reading, and 75.5% on CAPT math.
CREC Magnet Schools do not only focus on meeting the state’s standard of “proficiency”; CREC Magnet Schools
have always measured their success by national and international standards for achievement and by the skills and
knowledge necessary for college and career success.
In 2012, CREC Magnet Schools revealed high levels of achievement at the state’s higher Goal standard, including
three-quarters (75.5%) of CREC students performing at or above the Goal level on the CMT in reading and
nearly two-thirds (63.7%) in math.
From 2011 to 2012, the percentage of students performing at the Goal level in CREC Magnet Schools increased
from 29.9% to 38.9% in CAPT math, and 36% to 42.1% in CAPT reading.
CREC’s Newest Sheff Magnet Schools See Double-Digit Gains
CREC Magnet Schools, even in their early years of operation, are committed to achieving excellence. This is evident in the
outstanding CMT and CAPT results at CREC’s Medical Professionals and Teacher Preparation Academy and CREC’s
Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, both in existence for less than three years.
CREC’s Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy saw double-digit gains (13.5 percentage points at
the Proficient level and 22 percentage points at the Goal level) on CMT reading between 2011 and 2012. On CMT
math, the percent of students that met or exceeded the state’s proficiency standard increased by 7 percentage
points, and the percent of students that met or exceeded Goal increased by 13 percentage points on CMT math
between 2011 and 2012.
At CREC’s Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, there is no achievement gap between black students and white
students in reading at the 10th grade, with both groups having 100% of their students performing at proficiency or
better. In 2012, school-wide 90% of students performed at Proficient or better in CAPT math and 95% of students
performed at Proficient or better in CAPT reading.
Department of Communications  111 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106  860-524-4084  www.crec.org