School districts meet state standards

HARLEM VALLEY — The New York State Education Department results of state testing for the 2010-11 school year, released Aug. 11, are used to hold school districts accountable for education achievement.According to the department’s website, “The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that the states develop and report on measures of student proficiency in 1) English Language Arts [ELA] and 2) mathematics ... schools or districts that meet predefined goals on these measures are making Adequate Yearly Progress [AYP].”The scores are reported as the percents of students meeting certain levels as follows:• Level 1: Not Meeting Learning Standards. Student performance does not demonstrate an understanding of the content expected in the subject and grade level.• Level 2: Partially Meeting Learning Standards. Student performance demonstrates a partial understanding of the content expected in the subject and grade level.• Level 3: Meeting Learning Standards. Student performance demonstrates an understanding of the content expected in the subject and grade level.• Level 4: Meeting Learning Standards with Distinction. Student performance demonstrates a thorough understanding of the content expected in the subject and grade level.Millbrook Central School District scored the highest out of the three local school districts. Pine Plains Central School District and North East (Webutuck) Central School District scored relatively comparably.All three schools scored better in mathematics than in ELA.Millbrook had an average of 62.067 percent of students in grades three through eight scored at Level 3 or 4 with an average of 18.317 percent reaching Level 4.In Pine Plains, an average of 57.433 percent of students in grades three through eight score at Level 3 or 4 with an average of 10.9 percent reaching Level 4.At Webutuck, an average of 53.75 percent of students in grades three through eight score at Level 3 or 4 with an average of 12.717 percent reaching Level 4.Millbrook scored slightly lower in ELA, with an average of 61.483 percent of students in grades three through eight scoring at Level 3 or 4.An average of 48.467 percent of students in grades three through eight scored at Level 3 or 4 in ELA in Pine Plains.Webutuck saw the greatest disparity between scores in math and ELA. An average of 44.667 percent of students in grades three through eight scored at Level 3 or 4.All three school districts achieved AYP.Starting with the 2009-10 school year, the New York State Education Department raised the cut scores for the basic and proficient performance levels for both the mathematics and ELA exams.“Raising the bar has caused a statewide drop in the percent of students scoring at proficiency levels 3 and 4,” stated the education department’s website.For the full reports and numerical breakdowns by grade level in each district, visit the New York State Education Department website www.p12.nysed.gov and go to the Information and Reporting Services page.

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