Mixed results on Valley Stream test scores

Administrators in Valley Stream’s four school districts had mixed reactions to last week’s release of state test scores. The tests assess students in grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts and math.

While District 30 Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas was pleased with test score increases across the board and numbers that bested county and state averages, her counterparts in the other two elementary districts were disappointed. Across New York state, math scores were typically better than ELA scores, and that was the case in Valley Stream.

District 13

District results topped the Nassau County average on only three tests — third- and sixth-grade ELA and third-grade math. Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund said there was some disappointment with the scores, but noted that test results are just one measure of student success.

The district’s high mark was on the fourth-grade math test, with 79.1 percent of students passing it. The low mark was the fifth-grade ELA test, with a passing rate of 69.1 percent.

On the third-grade ELA test, the district eclipsed the county average by 4 percentage points. But the biggest gap was on the fifth-grade math test, where 80 percent of students in Nassau County passed, as opposed to just 71 percent in District 13.

There were some good signs. In 2010, only 62.4 percent of fifth-graders in the district passed the ELA test. As sixth-graders, however, 75 percent of that same group of students passed the test this year.

Robb-Fund noted that this year’s tests were longer, requiring more stamina from the students. That was not an excuse for the district’s scores, however, she said, noting that everyone in the state faced the same situation. She said that teachers and administrators will analyze the scores to see where improvements can be made to the district’s instructional program. “We need to do better,” she said, “and we will do better.”

District 24

Scores were generally down across the district, and overall it bested the county average on only one test, the sixth-grade math assessment.

“We’re totally disappointed, and very concerned about the test scores our students received,” Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said. “It was not a good showing.”

Onorato said that the only bright spot was that sixth-grade math test, with 81.6 percent of students passing, topping the county average by three percentage points and the prior year’s sixth-grade score by 16 points. However, he said, district officials were “not overjoyed” by that result because they were aiming for a 90 percent passing rate.

Across the district, 22 percent of students scored at Level 4, the top score, on the math tests, but only 4 percent did so on the ELA tests. Onorato said that the lack of students who mastered the material, including less than 1 percent on the fourth-grade ELA test, is of great concern.

He said that district and building administrators will get together next week to review the results. Additionally, BOCES will do an item analysis of individual student performance, including a review of the questions many students in District 24 got wrong, so curriculum gaps can be addressed.

Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale also said that most districts score their tests in-house or through BOCES. District 24 uses an outside company, and Fale said that district officials would review the tests to make sure they were scored correctly.

“We have to look at where our kids did not do as well as we expected,” Fale said. “Obviously, other districts did better, and that’s the issue we have to face. I can’t jump to saying what went wrong. I can say the teachers worked really hard. The principals worked really hard. The kids worked really hard.”

District 30

District scores bested the county average at every grade and on every test. The biggest margin was on the third-grade math test, with 85 percent of District 30 students passing, compared with 76 percent countywide. “Not only did we hold our ground,” Kanas said, “but overall, our scores increased.”

She said that the strong showing on the third-grade tests is proof that the district’s early-intervention programs are working. Over the past three years, Kanas said, the district has worked to improve early literacy skills in kindergarten through second grade, and she noted that this year’s third-grade class was the first group of test-takers to benefit from that.

She agreed that this year’s tests were significantly more difficult than tests given in past years, so it is hard to do a straight year-to-year comparison of scores.

Though pleased with the scores, Kanas said there is always room to do better, and officials will continue to look at ways to improve the curriculum.

Central High School District

“Our results were mixed,” said Superintendent Dr. Bill Heidenreich. “I can’t say we’re completely satisfied.”

All of Valley Stream’s seventh- and eighth-grade students are tested at the Central High School District. The eighth-grade ELA results bested the county average, but the seventh-grade scores and math results fell below it.

Heidenreich said that on the ELA tests there has been a movement away from fiction-based passages to nonfiction, which can often be harder for students to comprehend if they are not familiar with the topic. English teachers in the district, he said, will be using more nonfiction books and analytical questions in class to help students better prepare for future tests.

With the release of the scores in early August, Heidenreich said, there isn’t much staff around to analyze the results. He would like to see the results released earlier in future years, so officials can better plan their schedules for the upcoming year. All students scoring at levels 1 and 2 must receive Academic Intervention Services.

Heidenreich said that the district will look to make improvements in the curriculum. “When you get the scores, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning,” he said. “That’s where you have to set the course for the future.”