By REBECCA SHALOMOFF
Students in Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence School Districts performed well on the revised state-wide reading and math tests, which were administered for its second year.
The tests were given to students in public and private schools in February 2000, as a way to help prepare them for the changing state graduation requirements. Test results for 4th grade Math and 8th grade English Language Arts and math were released last week.
Students are graded on a scale of 1-4. Levels 1 and 2 indicate the need for academic intervention, and Levels 3 and 4 indicate satisfactory or excellent performance. Students at levels 3 and 4 meet state standards.
Across the state, 40 percent of eighth-graders met the math standards and 45 percent met the ELA standards. In Nassau County, 58 percent of eighth-graders scored at levels 3 or 4 on the English test, and 57 percent met state standards in mathematics.
Among New York State fourth-graders, 65 percent met math standards. 85 percent of fourth-graders in Nassau County received a 3 or 4 on the math test.
In Lawrence Public Schools, 84 percent of fourth grade students scored at levels 3 or 4; 53 percent of eighth-graders received a 3 or 4 on the math test, and 51 percent on the ELA test.
The ELA test results indicate that 49 percent of eighth grade Lawrence students scored at levels 1 and 2, and are therefore in danger of failing the revised English Regents. But superintendent Dr. Paul Kelleher said that doesn't act as a true indicator of future student success because 97 percent of Lawrence Middle School students tested did pass the Regents exam. "Maybe over time the test will be improved," he said.
Michelle Lineal, principal of the Number One School in Lawrence, said, "We don't teach to test, but we want to know that students will be successful. We want to teach what the standards are. We do a good job in this district. We align our curriculum with state standards."
Principal Gerald Goldsmith of the Number Five School in Cedarhurst, said, "The test is a challenging exam, however, the students at Lawrence are very well prepared. We have done well in the past, and we will continue to do well." Principal Goldsmith finds the test to be a valid way of assessing student performance. "It allows children to express how they think mathematically, to express themselves in a computational fashion and it goes to the heart of the process of how they assess problems," he said.
Hewlett-Woodmere school board president Richard Braverman disagrees. "I don't think this is a particularly good way of assessing student performance. It is a snapshot in time, and it is only one day. If you average grades over time, you get a better picture of what the student knows."
School officials at Hewlett-Woodmere are hesitant to compare last year's results to this year's because they feel it is misleading to compare one group of students to another. Superintendent Dr. Charles Fowler said, "Generally the scores [this year] are higher, but as an educator, it doesn't make sense to compare scores of two different groups. To take a group of 200 scores from last year and compare them with a new group of scores is insignificant."
Of the eighth-graders at Hewlett-Woodmere district, 79 percent achieved at levels 3 or 4 in math, and 71 percent in ELA; 86 percent of fourth-graders in District 14 scored a 3 or 4 on the state math test.
Claudette Tableman, principal of Woodmere Middle School, said, "We are pleased with the results of last year's assessment. We believe that we align our curriculum with state standards." For those students that scored at levels 1 and 2, Woodmere Middle School offers extra-help four times a week, an academic workshop for 7th and 8th graders and a strategy and skills class which meets twice a week.
These state-wide tests are part of a Student Accountability System which requires students to pass five Regents exams to receive a diploma and holds schools accountable for student performance. Each school district in New York State will be rated through a performance index.
One component of the index will be a productivity level-a number between 0-200 not yet determined by the state. A school district determines its number by combining the percentage of students at or above level 2 in ELA or math and the percentage of students performing at level 3.
Another component of the performance index is based on a cohort of students entering grade 9 at a given time. Officials said 90 percent of those students must pass both English and math Regents exams within four years, and the school district must have a yearly dropout rate less than 5 percent.
If a school district doesn't meet the performance index, corrective action will be required which could mean possibly losing state registration, reorganization of schools, closing of schools and distribution of students and faculty.
Principal of Hewlett Elementary School, Dr. Mildred David, said, "Although the test is only one vehicle among many, we need a more comprehensive way of assessing students' performance."
At the October 12, Hewlett-Woodmere school board meeting, Dr. Fowler explained in-depth the nature of the test and a breakdown of student scores.
The two-part ELA and Math tests consist of a section of objective multiple choice questions which require students to recall information and a constructed response section which includes an essay question or a complicated problem. The two portions of the test do correlate to one another. Therefore, if a student does well on one portion, he is likely to do as well on the other.
Dr. Fowler emphasized that if a student receives a 1 or 2, it does not mean the child is failing. He said, "Some have interpreted 1 or 2 as a failure, but it represents a point on a continuum of learning."
Overall, Dr. Fowler said he was pleased with the results of the tests.
Hewlett High School principal Joyce Bisso said, "I'm content that services in the high school are very available to students."
