New London - New London tests more special education students and those whose first language is not English than any other school district in the region, which may bring down its average scores on state standardized tests, but helps teachers and staff figure out how to better teach their students, school administrators said.

"We're not playing a numbers games," said William Tommy Thompson, principal at New London High School. "We're testing as many as we can to find out what they need."

Thompson and Alison Ryan, principal of the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, presented in-depth explanations to the Board of Education Thursday on the results of the latest Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.

Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer said the school district should be proud that it tests all its students rather than grant certain exemptions.

"We're very honest and try to look at programs for all our students," he said.

In August, the state released the test results, which showed some improvement in New London schools. The district, which is being governed by a state-appointed special master, showed progress in the percentage of students who reached or exceeded state or federal standards in 70 percent of tested grades and subject areas.

Ryan presented information that showed that while statewide scores decreased, the middle school in New London had substantial increases. And over a seven-year period, scores have gradually gone up. Also, sixth- and eighth-grade students met the target goals set by the district in math, reading and writing. The seventh grade did not meet the district goals, missing by 0.2 of a percent, she said.

"These results are pretty good,'' Ryan said. "We've been celebrating ever since."

Developing a team approach to teaching, focusing on the classroom environment and engaging students in learning, rather than having a teacher stand in the front of the room and lecture, have all contributed to the improved scores, she said.

Also, an extended learning day program during the school year and a summer Camp Rotary program, also helped.

"Last year, we told the students that this was going to be their year,'' Ryan said. "The teachers believed it and the students believed it."

Statewide results on the CMTs for third- through eighth-graders declined across all subjects and grade levels, and statewide CAPT scores for 10th-graders showed slight progress in all areas except writing.

In New London, fifth- and sixth-grade results showed particular improvements. For example, this year, 39 percent of the city's sixth-graders reached or exceeded the state's goal in math, up from 28 percent last year. In addition, 46 percent of sixth-graders met or surpassed the state's writing goal, up from 33 percent last year.

CAPT scores for 10th-graders showed a need for improvement in geometry, probability and statistics and in interdisciplinary writing. In reading, 10th-graders did not fare as well as they did the previous year, but improved over the 2011 scores.

"We have a long way to go, but we can see we're getting there," said Deanna Brucoli, humanities coordinator at the school in charge of the English and history departments."

k.edgecomb@theday.com