I am pleased to provide you with an overview of the 2008 MCAS results. As I stated in last year’s letter, a tenet of my belief system is that public education must be about providing equity and excellence for all students. This year, the goal continues to remain the same - to consistently move more students into the Proficient and Advanced levels. Seventeen (17) MCAS tests were administered last spring in Grades 3 – 10. The following highlights represent a snapshot of some of our success stories:

	Grade 3 Math - 6% Increase in Percentage of Students Scoring Proficient
	Grade 4 Math – 3% Increase in Percentage of Students Scoring Advanced
	Grade 5 Science & Tech. Eng. – 8% Increase in Percentage of Students Scoring in Advanced & Proficient
	Grade 6 Math – 7% Increase in Percentage of Students Scored in Advanced & Proficient
	Grade 7 Math – 13% Increase in Percentage of Students Scoring in Advanced & Proficient
	Grade 9 Biology – 24% Increase in Percentage of Students Scoring in Advanced & Proficient
	Grade 10 ELA – 3% Increase in the Percentage of Students Scoring in Advanced & Proficient

In addition, I am pleased to announce that Hanover Public Schools has achieved a performance rating of Very High in English Language Arts and High in Mathematics on the federal Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) Report Card. These results mean that again Hanover has achieved Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) status as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act which is that all students reach proficiency by 2014. While continuing to focus on the aggregate is important, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the aggregate is made up of individual students, some of whom are high achievers, middle achievers, and low achievers. To this end, we are also extremely pleased that for the first time in many years, Hanover Middle School, has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status for all subgroups, including students with disabilities.

By no means are we done in our journey of becoming a high performing school district. We will continue to focus our energies not on teaching to a test, but on providing an engaging and rigorous teaching and learning environment where the belief is that all students can learn. Finally, if you would like to view any individual school Report Cards, please click on the school’s Report Card link and/or if you have any specific questions about your child’s school performance, please contact the building administrators.

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The historic reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Act, ESEA, crafted by Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy and signed into law by President George Bush with the wide and bipartisan support of Congress, "No Child Left Behind" is a monumental law that will affect virtually every aspect of public education for many years to come. The goal is pure and simple: to ensure that every student in the nation receives a good education.

State and local school district report cards are critical tools for promoting accountability for schools, local school districts, and States by publicizing data about student performance and program effectiveness for parents, policy makers, and other stakeholders. Report cards help parents and the general public see where schools and districts are succeeding and where there is still work to do.

A well-informed public is an important resource in the school and district improvement process.
In the same way that data enable educators to make better decisions about teaching and learning, data can also help parents and other community members work more effectively with educators and local school officials to promote school change. Additionally, the more parents and community members know about the academic achievement of their children and their schools, the more likely they are to be involved in their local schools and the public school system. Equipped with information on academic results and teacher quality, parents and community members can make better decisions and choices. For these reasons, States and LEAs receiving Title I funds must prepare and disseminate annual report cards.

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