By Karenlyn Barone and Cindy J. Roth
"I give the district high marks as we continue to work on improving and continue our upward trend," said East Rockaway School District Superintendent Arnie Dodge. East Rockaway saw a 12 percent increase in eighth-grade students' scores of three or four on the English Language Arts (ELA) exam and an 11 percent increase on the eighth-grade math exam. On the fourth-grade level, the ELA exam saw a decrease of 3 percent in the number of students who passed, bringing the total to 84 percent, while the math exam took a 7 percent hit, the passing percentage dropping from 90 to 83 percent.
The state exams are graded on a four-level system. A score of one or two indicates a student's lack of certain skills to meet state standards; a level-three score means a student is meeting state standards, and a level-four score signifies that a student is exceeding state standards.
Eighth-grade tests have received much criticism over the years from school-district officials for being exceptionally hard. While this year's test results, which reflect students' scores during the 2001-02 school year, show higher numbers of students scoring a three or a four in all three school districts, the eighth-grade exam's passing percentages still lag behind the fourth-grade results. Virtually across the board statewide, fourth-graders always perform better than eighth-graders, which the state acknowledges but offers no explanation for.
Malverne's percentage of fourth-graders who passed the ELA exam dropped 2 points to 67 percent, and the math exam saw a 68 percent passing rate, down 10 percent from last year. In the eighth grade, ELA test results rose 2 percent, to 48 percent passing, and the math exam passing rate shot up 21 percent, with 69 percent of students scoring a three or four.
In Lynbrook, 93 percent of fourth-graders passed the ELA exam -- no change from last year -- and 99 percent passed the math exam, up 1 percent from last year. Lynbrook's eighth-grade math scores rose 9 percent, to 85 percent passing, and the ELA exam results stayed the same, at 68 percent.
"Lynbrook has been recognized for making tremendous progress at the middle-school level regarding test scores," said Superintendent Bill Metkiff.
In response to this year's report card, Metkiff has already made plans to bring in consultants trained to help teachers make everyday instruction reflect what the students are being assessed on. However, Metkiff still questions the accuracy of the eighth-grade scores, claiming the tests are based heavily on writing, reason and analysis and not on computation and facts.
Malverne School District Superintendent Anthony Pecorale said he will be talking with administrators to see where improvements in current programs need to be made. "Overall, our scores are improving, and we are going to work to continue that progress," Pecorale said.
However, Pecorale believes Gov. George Pataki's proposed budget cuts will have a negative impact on test scores for all districts. "I am convinced that the state will eventually make it impossible for us to operate," he said. "The budget cuts will have a disastrous impact on our trying to improve what is going on in the classrooms and improving our test scores."
State exam results
Fourth-grade ELA
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change from last year
East Rockaway 85 87 84 -3
Lynbrook 87 93 93 0
Malverne 58 69 67 -2
State 59 60 62 +2
Fourth-grade math
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change from last year
East Rockaway 89 90 83 -7
Lynbrook 91 98 99 +1
Malverne 64 78 68 -10
State 65 69 68 -1
Eighth-grade ELA
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change from last year
East Rockaway 48 47 59 +12
Lynbrook 67 68 68 0
Malverne 42 46 48 +2
State 45 45 44 -1
Eighth-grade math
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change from last year
East Rockaway 46 38 49 +11
Lynbrook 71 76 85 +9
Malverne 47 48 69 +21
State 40 39 48 +9
*Numbers represent percentages of students meeting or exceeding state standards.
