Test Scores Decline

New York State test results for the academic year 2009-10 for grades 3-8 were released last week.  There’s interesting news for Scarsdale.  Our mean scores for both the Math and English tests have barely changed, however, this year, after the test was administered, the state reset the proficiency standards, in effect raising the score a student needs to be deemed proficient.

 Historically, upwards of 95% of Scarsdale students had scored in proficiency levels 3 or 4 on the tests, but under the new scheme, the number of students in those levels has fallen from 5% - 20%. See the results in the chart on the right.

Statewide results are pretty grim. Across grades, 3-8, only 53% were found to be proficient in English, and 61% in Math.  This represents a steep decline from 2009 results where 77% met or exceeded standards in English and 86% were proficient in Math. To learn more, visit the state education website or search for results by district here.

Scarsdale Schools Superintendant Michael McGill does not believe the test results signal a decline in student abilities and discounts the test as a predictor of future academic success.

Here is a statement from Dr. McGill:

This week, school districts across the state received the scores from grade 3-8 tests that were administered in the spring.  Statewide, fewer students scored at the upper levels, and more scored at lower levels.

The reason is that the State Education Department has increased the number of responses a student must get right in order to achieve a top rating. Learning hasn’t actually declined, in other words; pupils just have to reach a higher score to be called “proficient.”

In Scarsdale, we’re still in the process of reviewing our results.  However, we have no reason to think we’ll be an exception to the rule.   We expect that the statewide pattern will hold here, and that fewer of our pupils will be in the upper levels.  

We ordinarily share state test scores with parents in the fall, and we’ll do that as usual this year.  When we do, we want parents to know that a child who’s earned a mark of 1 or 2 may well be there because the scoring method has changed and the bar is higher, not because he or she is any less able.

In Scarsdale, state tests have never been strong predictors of children’s long-term academic success, and by the time our students graduate, they’re well prepared for college.   In general, the tests tell teachers relatively little that they don’t already know from working closely with their pupils.  In-class exercises, other demonstrations of learning and close personal observation enable them to provide students the ongoing support they need to learn and grow.

More broadly, the Scarsdale schools are committed to provide our students with a deep, rich education.  We want our graduates to go well beyond basic mastery to become excellent thinkers and problem-solvers who can contribute, lead and succeed in the global community.  We avoid teaching to government-mandated tests, relying instead on a wide range of assessments for a broad picture of our students’ progress.

We think it’s unfortunate that the State decided to make this change late in the game and without letting schools or parents know it was going to happen, or why. Nonetheless, we fully endorse the Regents’ effort to set higher expectations for students. We will continue to set even higher educational standards in Scarsdale.