Levittown: scores are on the upswing

While there is still some work to do, Levittown School District officials say they are pleased with last year’s test scores, which were reviewed at the Board of Education meeting on Sept. 16.

For the English Language Arts and math assessments in grades 3-8, Debbie Rifkin, the assistant superintendent for instruction, said that while the scores are generally good, they are unreliable. That is because of the large “opt-out” population in Levittown. Last year, 61 percent of students refused the ELA tests, and 66 percent did not take the math assessments.

On the ELA assessments, the district bested county averages in third through seventh grade. Passing rates ranged from 41 percent on the eighth-grade test, to 62 percent on the third-grade test, the seventh-best rate in the county out of 53 districts.

Math scores surpassed county averages in third, fourth, fifth and seventh grades. Rifkin said that one area of concern was that the scores were lower than the average of surrounding districts. However, she did note that passing rates did increase at every grade level in Levittown except third, which stayed the same.

Because of the high number of “opt outs,” Rifkin said that Levittown uses other assessments to monitor the progress of its students. The primary one is the Northwest Evaluation Association, of NWEA, tests in reading and math. These offer information that help guide instruction, identify student strengths and weaknesses, and determine groupings of children, Rifkin explained.

She also reviewed last year’s Regents results. Students in Levittown’s two high schools took one or more of 11 Regents exams in June. Passing rates bested county averages in English, math and social studies, but were behind in three of the four sciences.

The best mark was on the United States history Regents, which 97 percent of students passed, and 78 percent achieved mastery, which is a score of 85 or higher.

The most favorable gap was on the Common Core algebra Regents, with 86 percent of Levittown students passing, compared with 77 percent in Nassau County. This year, all juniors will have to take the new Common Core English Regents. Rifkin said that in order to give students a chance to do well, they will be given the test in January, and have the option of taking it again in June.

The passing rate on the Chemistry Regents rose to 84 percent in the district, after having been below 80 percent two years ago. Levittown still lagged two points behind the county average. “We are creeping up,” Rifkin said. “Over the last three years, we’ve really made some improvements.”

This year, the district will be switching the order in which Living Environment — formerly biology — and Earth science are taught. Living Environment will now be the ninth-grade course, or eighth grade for accelerated students, with Earth Science the following year. Rifkin said she believes this switch will increase student success on the Regents.

Levittown students took a district record 1,245 Advanced Placement exams last year. Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said this is the result of more students taking AP classes, and individual students taking more AP exams. Out of those tests, 64 percent of students scored 3 or higher, which is considered passing and is often good for college credit.

Rifkin said that even is a student does not score a 3, the experience of taking an AP course helps prepare them for the rigors of a college workload. “Since 2004, we’ve almost doubled the number of students taking AP exams,” she said, noting that the district is encouraging students to take challenging courses.

Last year’s high-school graduation rate was 94 percent. Additionally, 68 percent of students earned Advanced Regents Diplomas, which means they passed a series of eight Regents exams.

From the class of 2015, students are now attending colleges such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Duke, New York University, Penn State and Vassar. “Our students really go to top-tier colleges,” Rifkin said.