By:Andrew Coen
In Lawrence, 93 percent of the 335 students who took the English Regents received a passing mark of 65 or better, a 12 percent increase from the 2003 results, when 81 percent of the 258 students who took the test passed.
The English Regents was given in January, which was a change from the previous schedule, when the exam was given in June.
On the Math A Regents, 94 percent of the 129 Lawrence students who took the test passed. Last June, the test was the subject of controversy and was criticized by many for having defects and being too difficult, producing poor results statewide.
In August, state education officials decided to re-score the exams given two months earlier. As a result of the June test-taking mess, the exam was revised in January 2004, with more questions offering multiple-choice answers and fewer open-ended questions. That may be part of the reason why scores have shot up. Starting in June 2006, the state expects to offer tests with more open-ended questions.
January-s results in Lawrence showed an 8 percentage-point improvement from the Math A exam in January 2003, when 86 percent passed.
Once again, our administrators and teachers are to be commended for their efforts, said Michelle Lineal, Lawrence-s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Improved student performance on high-stakes tests reflects a systematic emphasis on the use of data to inform instruction and an ongoing dialogue about teaching and learning.
Lawrence High School Principal Dr. Steven Kussin said, It was a culmination of the teachers- dedication and giving more extra help than required and the students- motivation and desire to do well on these tests.
A sign of the students- motivation was the number of students who showed up at the school-s Weekend School Saturday session for extra help in preparation for the exams. I walked through those halls on Saturday and saw the rooms packed, which shows how motivated they were to do well, and from what I heard from talking to teachers, they really wanted to be there, said Kussin.
Lawrence-s Regents results come shortly after the announcement of improved scores on the fifth-grade Social Studies Assessment, in which 97 percent of District 15 students met state standards. The district also improved in math, with a 5 percentage-point increase at the fourth-grade level, with 87 percent meeting the state standards, and an 8 percentage-point improvement shown by eighth-graders, with 60 percent meeting the standards.
Hewlett-s 98 percent passing rate in Math A, which was taken by 244 students this January, is a 6 percentage-point jump from January 2003, when 92 percent scored 65 or better on the high-stakes exam. It isn-t possible to compare it with last June-s exam, whose defects produced just a 25 percent passing rate and low scores throughout the state. Fifty-six percent of students scored between 85 and 100 on January-s test.
School officials said that 238 Hewlett students took the English Regents in January and 98 percent passed it. Seventy percent scored between 85 and 100. The 98 percent passing rate is a 3 percentage-point improvement from the January 2003 test, when 95 percent of the 283 students who sat for the test passed. Only 12 students took the June exam, and only seven to 10 are expected to sit for this June-s test as a result of the high passing rates, according to Hewlett High School Assistant Principal Hank Hardy.
We have a very strong English Language Arts Department, said Susan Pratt, the Hewlett-Woodmere School District-s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. I think [the Regents results] are a tribute to the department.
It-s a credit to the instructional program and the curriculum, said Hewlett High School Principal Dr. Joyce Bisso.
According to the State Department of Education, the scores are expected to be officially released by the state sometime in the next few months.
