CHENANGO COUNTY – Statewide math test results show improvements across the board, according to a report released Tuesday by the state education department.
Regents Chancellor Robert M. Bennett and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills say great achievements can be seen this year with an overall achievement rate of 73 percent of students grades 5-8 reaching math standards, compared to 66 percent last year. Testing was done in grades 3 through 8 in March.
Bennett also says the ultimate goal is to close the gap between students who are meeting requirements and those who are not. He says the achievements announced Tuesday are gratifying, although the state department will not be satisfied until the gap is closed everywhere.
In Chenango County, the overall average is below standards, but some schools report improvement.
Students receive a scale score on the test which falls into one of four levels: “exceeds the learning standards;” “meets the learning standards;” “partially meets the learning standards or meets part of the learning standards;” and “serious academic problems.” To meet standards, children tested must score a level three or four.
Greene Middle School Principal Judy Gorton said all grade levels tested had improved this year. The sixth graders showed the greatest increase from roughly 60 percent last year to a rating of 86 percent this year. “For the area, that is absolutely excellent,” said Gorton.
Norwich City School Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan says the assessment shows a lot of progress as well as areas which still need work. The district scores showed 15 percent growth for seventh and eight grades; 10 percent growth for sixth grade; 21 percent growth for fifth grade; grade four stayed the same; and third grade saw a small decrease.
O’Sullivan says the district is looking at the scores and beginning to verify the data to determine if the middle school made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) which will determine whether it will be in good standing or remain on the corrective action list for the 07-08 school year.
“The process to determine where we stand will not be complete for at least a couple of months,” he said. To be removed from the corrective action status, Norwich must show AYP in the middle school for two years, consecutively. If AYP was made this year, the middle school would be removed from the list for mathematics.
O’Sullivan says the preliminary results released Tuesday were promising and showed that the district is headed in the right direction. “We know we still have work to do, but at the same time we are happy to see double digit growth in many of the grade levels.”
Superintendent Gayle Hellert from Sherburne-Earlville said the district has met the standards in all grade levels. Individual scoring is not yet complete, but Hellert says the testing showed achievements on many levels.