By: Jerry Burke
Looks like the readjustment worked.
Last week, Elmont placed five schools and Franklin Square landed all three on the State Education Department's list of most improved scores on the fourth-grade English Language Arts tests over the past five years.
In addition, three Elmont schools made the list for fourth-grade math assessments, and both Elmont Memorial and H. Frank Carey showed marked improvement on the eighth grade math assessments.
In order for a school to make the list, at least 50 percent of its students had to score at levels 3 or 4. Also, a school had to have shown an improvement of at least 20 percentage points.
"The teachers have really been working hard over the last five years," said Palandra. "After taking a few tests, we were able to analyze our patterns of weaknesses."
English armada
Elmont's Gotham Avenue School led the way for local schools on the fourth grade ELA, with 92 of 99 students scoring in the top brackets. In 1999, only 39 of the 97 students tested scored a 3 or 4. Gotham Avenue was the fifth-most-improved school in Nassau County, improving by 52.7 percent.
Also on the way up in Elmont were Dutch Broadway (44 percent improvement), Covert Avenue (42.3), Clara H. Carlson (33.44) and Alden Terrace (31.76).
All three Franklin Square elementary schools made the county's most-improved list, with Washington Street School coming in at number 11. In 1999, Washington placed 54 of 104 students into the upper brackets. Five years later, 111 of 116 students made the grade, a 43.8 percent improvement.
John Street School improved 28.7 percent, while Polk Street moved up 25.9 percent over five years.
Add it up
While far fewer schools made the state's list of most-improved in math, Elmont Schools were well represented by three schools. Dutch Broadway ranked fifth in Nassau County, improving scores by 37.7 percent over five years. Also on the move up were Gotham Avenue (33.6 percent) and Stewart Manor (up 28.6 percent since 1999, and having all students tested in the top brackets).
"We're trying to continue to evolve our lesson plans," said Palandra. "We're monitoring the individual progress of the teachers closely in order to give the students the best possible education."
In the eighth grade math exams, Elmont Memorial (31.8 improvement), Valley Stream Memorial Junior High (24.9) and H. Frank Carey (22.2) all made strides over the past five years. Dr. Lois Austen, assistant superintendent at Valley Stream Central District, attributed the improvements to the hard work of students, parents, teachers and the administration at both the district and school levels.
All the districts are looking for continued performance with this year's tests. The 2004 ELAs were administered earlier this year, but the results have not yet been released. The math assessment will be administered in May.
