By Jonann Brady
In the 2001-02 school year, 61 percent of eighth-graders in Baldwin met or exceeded standards on statewide math exams, a 19 percent increase from the previous year. Baldwin students outperformed the statewide average scores by 13 percent. Last year, 63 percent of students taking the ELA exam met or exceeded state standards, a 7 percent jump from the previous year.
Statewide, educators have seen middle-school test scores drop precipitously from elementary school and then rise again once students hit high school. Many educators have said that drop can be attributed to the turbulence of adolescence and increased pressure on students to perform well on several standardized tests.
Still, administrators at Baldwin say they have taken steps to help prepare students for the tests by providing after-school preparation sessions and an increased focus on math education in the Middle School by Principal James Brown.
"We were happy about the Middle School scores going up," said Jeffrey Hollman, assistant superintendent for instruction.
While eighth-grade scores were promising, fourth-grade test results painted a mixed picture. Though Baldwin fourth-graders surpassed statewide averages in both math and ELA, 2001-02 test scores dropped 9 percent in math and 4 percent in ELA from the previous year.
Only Lenox Elementary School showed increases in math and ELA scores from last year, while Shubert Elementary School showed the most significant drop in scores -- down 25 percent in ELA and 17 percent in math.
Hollman said the district uses the test scores as a barometer to gauge strengths and weaknesses of both individual students and programs. "It's difficult to compare year to year," he said. "What we do is take the scores we get, and we analyze the results to see where in our instructional programs we need to address issues."
Charts
H: State exam results
Percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards
Eighth-grade ELA
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change
from last year
Baldwin 51 56 63 7
New York State 45 45 44 -1
Eighth-grade math
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change
from last year
Baldwin 49 42 61 19
New York State 40 39 48 9
Fourth-grade ELA
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change
from last year
Baldwin total 69 83 74 -9
Brookside 83 90 82 -8
Lenox 62 65 76 11
Meadow 69 81 67 -14
Milburn 74 100 85 -15
Plaza 63 85 81 -4
Shubert 80 95 70 -25
Steele 64 74 69 -5
New York State 59 60 62 2
Fourth-grade Math
99-00 00-01 01-02 % change
from last year
Baldwin total 73 85 81 -4
Brookside 79 96 90 -6
Lenox 74 76 90 14
Meadow 70 82 73 -9
Milburn 98 96 93 -3
Plaza 71 91 86 -5
Shubert 85 87 70 -17
Steele 56 82 80 -2
New York State 65 69 68 -1
