By Mike Schnitzel
The New York State Department of Education released the results of ELA test scores for 2007 last week, and most Valley Stream school districts did better than last year, except for District 24.
"I was disappointed by our results," Fale said. "It indicates that while we have improved our delivery of services to students and have implemented state-of-the-art programs, we still have a lot of work to do."
Fale said that the combination of students who were new to the school district, disabled students and English as a Second Language students contributed to the decline in scores.
"There are new entrants who have not experienced our curriculum for a full year, some who are disabled and some children who are in ESL who need more time with our programs," Fale said. "We will analyze more comprehensive student data when it comes in and figure out where we need to make changes to our curriculum and instruction."
Fale cited an example at Robert W. Carbonaro School, where in one class, seven students scored below the satisfactory level, meaning they achieved less than a Level 3 or 4, the passing grades, as an example of an area the district needs to work on. Most of those students were not enrolled in District 24 schools at the beginning of the school year.
Fale said that it was critical for students to get their necessary ELA training from the district to pass, because of its comprehensive reading and writing programs.
Scores up at Central
In the Central High School District, scores rose slightly
