By MIKE RUSSO
The state exam, administered each year to students in grades three through eight, rates their performance on a four-level scale. Levels 1 and 2 are considered below state standards, while students who score at levels 3 and 4 pass the test, meeting or exceeding the standards.
The greatest percentage point changes were seen in Grade 3, with the percentage of students scoring at the top two levels increasing from 95.9 percent in 2008 to 97.6 this year; Grade 5, with 94.1 percent students meeting or exceeding standards, up from 90.9 percent last year; and 94.8 percent of seventh-grade students at the top two levels, up from 88.1 percent in 2008. Eighth-graders also improved: 88.4 percent scored at levels 3 or 4 this year, compared with 85.2 in 2008.
Mike Roccoforte, the district's assistant superintendent for instruction, said that teachers employ many of the same methods to prepare students for the math tests that they use for the state English Language Arts exams. Utilizing software programs such as Fast Math and Aha! Math, a student's strengths and weaknesses can be measured and a curriculum created for his or her specific needs.
In the classroom, teachers divide students into small groups based on their abilities in a specific area of math - a technique Roccoforte called differentiation. The teacher spends time with one group and then rotates to the others, ensuring that all students get the personalized attention and assistance they need to keep up with the core curriculum.
Two years ago, to gauge whether their methods were succeeding, district officials initiated a three-year study of 400 students beginning in sixth grade. In 2007, the first year of the study, 76.8 percent of those sixth-graders scored at levels 3 or 4. In 2008, when the students were in seventh grade, the percentage jumped to 87.5, and this year, as eight-graders, their performance improved again, with 88.4 percent of them meeting or exceeding the state standards.
"I think that really shows that the district is on target as far as changes that have been made," Roccoforte said. "But we're always looking to improve."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
