Superintendent and Principal Courtney Lyons explains how changes in state assessments impact Fayette’s test scores during the Feb. 11 Fayette Central School Board meeting in Fayette. Franklin Journal file

FAYETTE—The Fayette Central School board met Monday, Feb. 11, with Vice Chair Richard Darling presiding, while Board Chair Nancy Cronin attended remotely. Discussion focused on the challenges of multi-grade teaching, the impact of state assessment changes on school performance data and community engagement.

Board member Lana Sturtevant acknowledged the dedication of teachers managing multiple grade levels. “The volunteering and give a kudos to a teacher who has two grades that they are teaching because there are a wide range of abilities in those ages,” she said. “That can be a challenge and they do very well.”

Darling agreed, noting his wife’s past experience in a similar role. “I will second that. My wife having taught two grades here,” he said.

Cronin, attending via Zoom due to an injury, thanked the board for allowing her to participate remotely. “There is a lot of noise these days, and we don’t have to worry until there is something to worry about,” she said, referring to potential federal and state budget changes. “I just wanted to say thank you to the little town that I live in and where we live so we are all in community and get together.”

Darling noted the strong community presence at the meeting. “I think this is the biggest turnout we have had in a long time,” he said.

A resident asked about Fayette’s academic performance in light of reports on Maine schools struggling with test scores. Superintendent and Principal Courtney Lyons addressed concerns, explaining that frequent changes to the state’s assessment measures make year-over-year comparisons difficult.

“This state has changed the assessment measure over the past couple of years,” Lyons said. “So when we start talking about one year in comparison to another, it’s very difficult to do.”

She noted that the state assessments, which are taken on computers, do not allow teacher assistance and can be unreliable due to student engagement levels.

“Students could spend two seconds on a question, click an answer and move on,” she said. “When we have such a small school and a handful of students who decide, ‘I don’t really feel like doing this,’ their test scores fall really low, and it then skews the school data.”

Lyons shared internal assessment results, which provide a more accurate measure of student progress. “Last year, we had 50% of our students who were on or above level, meeting exactly what the state standard is saying,” she said. “Then we had 34% who were just one tick below what the state says they should be at for level. That leaves about 16% of our students who would need reading interventions or could potentially already have an IEP and specialized supports in the area of reading.”

A board member pointed out that state assessments do not reflect student progress as well as an assessment by the teacher that works with the student daily.

Lyons added that Fayette does not require its youngest students to take the assessment, which is mandated for grades three and up. Instead, the school uses one-on-one evaluations.

“We found one-on-one is the best route,” she said. “Last year, we had 33 students who took the assessment. If two or three do poorly, it skews the numbers.”