The eighth graders' scores will show more than whether individual students measure up to the state's academic standards. They also will be a barometer of Mastery's success in converting the once-troubled middle school into a charter.
The school's principal, Robert Lewis, while reticent to predict scores, is confident.
"I think it's pretty safe to say there may be pleasant surprises down the road," he said.
Last year, before Mastery arrived, only 30.6 percent of eighth graders had scored at proficient or above in math, 42.8 percent in reading.
"If we come in five percentage points or higher than what they did last year, I would consider that a win," Lewis said. "But I would like to see a little bit more than that."
Results are due this summer.
For years Shoemaker was one of the most troubled schools in the district, plagued by low test scores and violence. Last year, as a traditional district middle school with 186 seventh and eighth graders, it reported 66 serious incidents, including an assault on a school police officer, four assaults on teachers, and 12 assaults on students.
So far this academic year, since Mastery took over, Lewis said, there have been three student fights in a school that now has 208 seventh and eighth graders.
"I am really proud of them," Lewis said. "There is a part of me that finds that hard to believe - and I'm here every day. There are suburban schools that have had more fights."
Based on Mastery's track record at its charter high school in Center City, the school district asked the nonprofit to take on Shoemaker.
Among the first things the students did last fall was to pledge not to engage in violence. And parents, students and school officials signed contracts promising to do "whatever is necessary" to help students succeed.
