Wiscasset School Committee Chair Tracey Whitney said Oct. 27, it's frustrating when people cite below state average test scores to "justify or not justify our school's existence" and reject school budgets. (Voters narrowly rejected the first two tries at this year's.) She said the narrative is, students are not achieving. But they are, including going onto good colleges, she said.

"What does success look like here in Wiscasset for our kids, (and) how do we produce the data that shows the importance of those things," Whitney asked in the workshop. The committee is working on how it will review academic achievement three times a year.

Member Doug Merrill suggested getting what the group grade point average (GPA) is for each grade, quarterly at Wiscasset Middle High School and three times a year at Wiscasset Elementary School. "At least (with that), we know we're (assessing) things they've been taught, instead of the state coming in with a pie in the sky task that we might not be teaching in the curriculum for another year.

"I want to know in-house, is the staff progressing forward with the curriculum in a way that we can measure it." Merrill said he doesn't care what the state says on achievement, because "they have no idea what (our) student body is, or how the teachers work together."

Whitney liked the class GPA idea. "But the sell is going to be with the general public. That, OK our test scores are 'here,' but this is the growth."

Vice Chair John Merry said a lot of the focus on growth needs to be at the elementary level, including getting students caught up to their grade level in reading. "Are we doing a good job as far as getting them back up to speed before they come to the high school?"

"It's a work in progress," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kim Andersson said.

An hour before the session, Andersson got an email from the state saying this is the last year it's using Northwest Evaluation Association's tests as the state assessment. She said state assessments are how districts get federal dollars — about a quarter million a year for Wiscasset schools.

The 3:57 p.m. Oct. 27 email from Maine Department of Education says the new vendor for the statewide reading and math assessment, starting with next fall's, is New Meridian. The assessment will offer "increased transparency and educator involvement," an adaptive design and "instructionally useful data," the email reads. 

The committee plans more workshop time to arrive at how to gauge achievement. Andersson will have some employees join the discussion as subject matter experts at different grade levels.

Merry told Andersson, "Just forewarn them we're going to be thinking outside the box for a while."

"Yeah, this is going to be brainstorming it ...," Whitney said. "I don't want to be reinventing the wheel for teachers. That's not our job or our place. But I want us to work within the system that they have and see how they're doing what they're doing."

"(And) not just cramming another chore down their throat that they don't have time for," Merrill said.

The committee's next workshop is at 6 p.m. Nov. 17 at Wiscasset Middle High School.