Farmington students outperform state averages on 2025 summative tests; growth measures highlighted, equity gaps noted
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Summary
District officials presented 2025 Smarter Balanced, NGSS and CAP results showing Farmington well above Connecticut averages in ELA, math and science, with the district also exceeding the state's growth targets. Board members raised concerns about persistent performance gaps for Black and Hispanic students.
Eric Martin, director of curriculum and instruction, told the Farmington Board of Education on Oct. 21 that Farmington students outperformed Connecticut averages across the district'administered summative assessments for 2025.
"In ELA, we are 25% higher than the Connecticut average, to the tune of 76% of our students meeting or exceeding the benchmark for state performance," Eric Martin said. He identified similar districtwide advantages in math (about 27% higher than the state average) and science (about 28% higher than the state average).
Martin described both achievement and the state growth model as important measures. Under the growth model, which sets individualized targets based on prior performance, Farmington reported that 55% of students met their full growth target in literacy in 2025 (a 7-percentage-point increase from the prior year and 15 points higher than the state average). On average, Farmington students reached 72% of their full literacy growth target (12 points above the state average). In math, 58% of students met their full growth targets and students reached an average of 73% of their full growth target, also well above state averages.
Martin told the board that Farmington's "high needs" subgroup'which the state defines as students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, are multilingual learners, or are students with disabilities'also performed above state averages. He said the district's high-needs students scored roughly 18% higher than the state average on Smarter Balanced math and literacy, and about 20% higher on the NGSS science assessment.
Board members pressed for more detail on subgroup performance and strategies. One trustee pointed to equity indicators in the packet showing lower passing percentages for Black and Hispanic students on several assessments and asked what targeted steps the district will take.
Veronica, a district staff member, and Eric said those disparities are a focus of school and program development plans; staff cited expanded tutoring access, targeted interventions, coaching for teachers and course-access initiatives as examples of strategies already in use. District leaders also pointed to gains in specific access measures: for example, they said college-course enrollment figures showed improvement for all student groups, citing an example in which overall college-course participation rose from 85% to 98% and participation among Black students rose from 71% to 94% (figures presented by staff as evidence of progress in access to advanced coursework).
Eric Martin told the board that high school SAT results are included in a separate report and were not presented that night.
Board members and staff agreed the summative results are one important data point among many, and that the district will continue to use the achievement and growth data to refine curriculum and targeted supports.
