Amistad Academy was founded with a clear goal in mind: to build an academic environment that would let students from New Haven's economically disadvantaged backgrounds close the persistent gap in academic achievement with their white, suburban counterparts.

The Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) is a comprehensive exam administered to 4th, 6th, and 8th graders throughout the state, measuring basic reading, mathematics, and writing skills. Traditionally, black and Latino students from New Haven's schools — the very schools from which Amistad's students are drawn — have scored far below the statewide average, which is buoyed by the high scores of students in the state's wealthy suburbs.

Improvements for students at Amistad have been nothing short of dramatic compared to their peers in New Haven or Connecticut. Take the CMT scores for the 2004 graduating class as an example (see charts below). There was actually a decrease in mastery from sixth to eighth grade for New Haven and Connecticut students. But Amistad student's scores soared in those same two years. From 33 percent of mastery in math as 6th graders to 75 percent as 8th graders. Amistad showed even greater improvement in reading, where 8th graders achieved 80 percent of mastery. And in writing, Amistad students blew everyone away-at 85 percent of mastery compared to 62 percent for Connecticut and 34 percent for New Haven. As you can see in the charts below, New Haven and statewide scores showed very little change in that same two-year period, compared to Amistad's surge from 38 percent to 85 percent.

The extended day translates into more than just increased class time. For its students, teachers, and even parents, Amistad Academy is not so much a school, as a way of life.

To view comparative charts for other years, click below:
Class of 2003
Class of 2002

2004 CMT Performance
Percentage at Mastery

Charts are based on student performance data reported by the Connecticut Department of Education and Amistad Academy.