New London - The Board of Education heard detailed reports Thursday night from two principals and a district official on Connecticut Mastery Test results from the three New London elementary schools.

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.

"We are improving," Board of Education Chairwoman Margaret Mary Curtin said. "We go up and down, but we are ahead of where we were in 2009, and that tells me that the trend is moving upward."

Jennings Elementary School Principal Laurelle Texidor highlighted increases in the percentage of students who scored at a proficient level or above in grade four math and writing, two areas that she said were of particular focus at the school last year.

"We did take a good deal of time last year refining the writing," Texidor said. "Teachers took a lot of time talking to youngsters about looking at the prompt and actually answering what the prompt is asking them to answer."

In reading however, the percentage of students scoring at a proficient level or better declined in third, fourth and fifth grades. One factor that may have played a role in those scores, Texidor said, is the fluency of students.

"We believe that fluency is truly an issue with our students," she said. "Being able to read fluently and (read) fluently within a time frame and to be able to ... comprehend passages within a time frame was a challenge."

Donna Slate, principal of Nathan Hale Elementary Magnet School for the Visual & Performing Arts, pointed to a 20 percentage point increase in schoolwide math proficiency from five years ago as an example of how the school has improved.

Like Jennings, though, the percentage of students schoolwide who scored proficient or better in reading declined at Nathan Hale.

"We are on our way," Slate said. "We're not where we should be, but we're up and coming every day"

At the Winthrop Elementary Magnet School, officials saw "fantastic scores" and "really solid growth," particularly in fifth-grade math, according to Chief Academic Officer Kate Ericson, who presented the school's results to the board.

The full CMT results are available to the public online at http://solutions1.emetric.net/cmtpublic/Index.aspx.

"I think New London has a lot to be proud of," board Secretary Jason Catala said at the conclusion of the meeting. "I do think it is important that we analyze test data to see where we are succeeding. From what I saw tonight, I am proud of what the district has done."

c.young@theday.com