Test scores not true reflection of students: superintendent

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Baldwin School District Superintendent Dr. Shari Camhi said the results of the state math and English Language Arts classes do not reflect the academic success of Baldwin’s students.

Third-graders had the highest proficiency level in Baldwin, with 67 percent scoring a 3 or 4 on the math test and 56 percent making the mark on ELA. In eighth grade, 37 percent of students achieved proficiency on the ELA exam. Only nine students in that grade took the state math test and none got a proficient score. A district spokeswoman said the rest of the eighth grade class chose to participate in the high school math Regents Exam instead of the Grade 8 math test, a trend seen in other school districts. (See chart for full results).

Camhi said one of the reasons the tests don’t reflect Baldwin’s academic performance is because opt-out rates ranged from 36 to 79 percent. District-wide, 50.3 percent of Baldwin students refused to take the ELA test and 47.8 percent opted out of the math test — a 2.5 and 4.6 percentage point decrease, respectively, from last year’s opt-out rate.

The district, Camhi added, looks at factors other than the state test to assess a student’s academic performance. “The Baldwin Union Free School District expects all students to achieve high levels of literacy and math skills, creative and critical thinking, and to be college, career, and life ready,” Camhi said in a statement. “Our graduation rate of 96% and our varied, highly rigorous programs reflect this belief system and success.”

Some grade levels in Baldwin saw their proficiency levels drop from 2017 to 2018, but according to the state Education Department the results from last year’s test and this one’s should not be compared. That’s because the tests were administered over two days, instead of the usual three, and performance standards were changed. This year’s scores will be comparable to those in 2019 and 2020, according to the state.

The drop in Baldwin’s opt-out rate follows a similar trend across Long Island and the rest of New York — statewide, 18 percent of students did not take the test, down from 19 percent in 2017 and 21 percent in 2016. State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia told reporters the dip a move in the right direction. “Nothing moves fast in the state of New York,” she said.

The opt-out movement started, in part, as a protest against the linking of the results and teacher evaluations — a moratorium on using the scores to assess a teacher’s performance is set to expire next year.

Jeanette Deutermann, a North Bellemore mother and organizer of Long Island Opt-Out, called Elia’s statement bizarre and noted there are still more than 200,000 parents pulling their children out of the test. “I find it absolutely unconscionable that her comment wouldn’t be ‘We understand people are upset and we’re going to try to do better,’” Deutermann said. “It’s like a twilight zone.”

She also said she was pleased and surprised with the opt-out numbers, because every year there are close to 40,000 new parents to educate on the opt-out movement. “You’re trying to break through all the rhetoric,” Deutermann said. “We were shocked the number stayed close to the same.”

Two Baldwin parents were split on whether opting a child out a test is a good idea. Dina, in response to a social media poll, said people have forgotten about the movement and notices about it have decreased in recent years. Dina said she opts her children out of the tests.

But Sonia Lopez said she would never opt her children out, adding she wants to know how they’re doing academically compared to other children in the country. “These scores are a great recruiting tool for private and parochial schools who can taut how well their students perform compared to public school students,” Lopez said.