By Tom Jordan
The consistent reply of Rockville Centre School District administrators and school board members to questions about the state-issued Regents examination results have always been that they would not be satisfied until "100 percent of Rockville Centre students meet expectations." They came very close to achieving that goal last June, as indicated by recently-released scores. All 211 12th-graders met state requirements on the English test and 98 percent made the grade in math. Passing the math Regents exam is not presently required for graduation.
The figures show an improvement over the June '99 results, when 96 percent of Rockville Centre's students passed the English exam and 92 percent passed in math.
But there is still work to be done, because the requirements are becoming more strict: the minimum passing score now is 55 percent, but in June 2003 students will need to score at least 65 percent to graduate.
"It's nice to have done so well. We're thrilled," said Meg Koch, board of education president. "We're especially pleased that the students generally passed with scores higher than 65, which is what will be required. Of course, the goal is to have every student pass, and the closer we get to that, the happier we are."
Only four percent of Rockville Centre seniors last year scored between 55 and 64 percent in English, and 31 percent scored at least an 85.
"Those are exceptional scores," said Tom Dunne of the New York State Education Department. "And the math scores are even more exceptional. "
Seventy-two percent of Rockville Centre seniors scored between 65 and 84 last June.
Throughout New York State, 97 percent of all students passed the English test, with just one percent failing to meet state requirements because two percent had not taken the test in June. Eighty-five percent of students in New York State passed the math test.
By the year 2004, students will be required to pass Regents exams in English, Math, U.S. History, Global Studies and Science, a workload Ms. Koch called "very ambitious."
"But we're well on our way," Ms. Koch said. "Everyone has worked really hard and we've been offering the students a great deal of support. Making sure students earn diplomas is our most important job."
