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Thursday
Aug. 8, 2013

THE LONG ISLAND NEWSPAPER

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COPYRIGHT 2013, NEWSDAY LLC, LONG ISLAND, VOL. 73, NO. 339

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ILLUSTRATING THE TREND: EIGHTH-GRADERS

Passing rates on state tests dropped sharply when requirements were raised closer to national standards this year and in 2010. Here are average passing rates for LI eighth-graders since 2009.

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A37 A16 A32 A18 A31 A12 A63 A43 A46 A16 B26 A42 A44

91.4 89 84 78.9

MATH NASSAU MATH SUFFOLK ENGLISH NASSAU ENGLISH SUFFOLK

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2009

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2010 2011 2012

47.5 41.2 31.2 2013

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PERCENT ON LI WHO PASSED MATH EXAM

Grade 3
2012 2013

Grade 4
2012 2013

Grade 5
2012 2013

Grade 6
2012 2013

Grade 7
2012 2013

Grade 8
2012 2013

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70.8 40.1 78.5 42.6 76.7 35.7 76.5 38.0 77.3 35.0 72.7 Nassau 76.1 47.2 82.6 47.8 80.5 41.7 79.4 44.2 78.9 39.5 75.3 Suffolk 66.6 34.3 75.1 38.3 73.7 30.8 74.1 33.0 76.0 31.3 70.6
LI

33.4 36.1 31.2

PERCENT ON LI WHO PASSED ENGLISH EXAM

Grade 3
2012 2013

Grade 4
2012 2013

Grade 5
2012 2013

Grade 6
2012 2013

Grade 7
2012 2013

Grade 8
2012 2013

Inside ExploreLI

67.2 39.4 Nassau 72.2 45.7 Suffolk 63.2 34.3

LI

70.6 38.3 69.5 37.6 68.1 38.5 65.1 39.9 62.4 44.0 74.8 42.6 73.0 42.8 70.7 41.9 67.4 42.5 65.5 47.5 67.2 34.9 66.7 33.4 66.0 35.8 63.2 37.7 59.8 41.2
Source: New York State Education Department; Compiled by Michael R. Ebert

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NOT MAKING THE GRADE

Most LI students fail to pass tough new state exams in math and English
having their children opt out of taking the exams. State education officials and many business leaders defended this years shift to national Common Core academic standards, saying students will gain a more realistic picture of whether they are prepared for colleges and careers. Too often, these authorities said, students graduate from high schools only to be assigned to remedial courses once they enter college. Currently, more than half of all students attending SUNY and CUNY community colleges find themselves so placed. State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. summed up the goals of more rigorous testing in a letter to parents posted yesterday on the departments website. The changes that we are making now provide us a new opportunity to make sure that every single New York State student graduates from high school prepared and able to make choices about his or her own future in a dynamic and competitive economy, King wrote. The new standards adopted by New York, 44 other states and the District of Columbia set specific student learning goals for each grade level. Compared with most state standards used in the past, the new guidelines call for more advanced reading vocabulary, more analytical writing
BY JOHN HILDEBRAND
john.hildebrand@newsday.com

The number of students in grades 3 through 8 who passed state tests plunged more than 40 percent on Long Island and statewide a result that top education officials pinned largely on new exams overhauled to meet challenging national academic standards. Less than half of all students in those grades passed exams given in April, in contrast to majorities that did so in 2012, according to results the state Education Department released yesterday. On the Island, 37.5 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 passed the new math test, compared with 75.4 percent last year. In English, the percent of students across those grades passing the latest tests was 39.6 percent, down from 67.2 percent in 2012. Statewide, 31.0 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 passed the latest math tests, compared with 64.8 percent in 2012. In English, the percentage of students statewide deemed proficient or better dropped to 31.1 percent, down from 55.1 percent of students last year. More than 1 million students statewide took the exams. This years testing marks the second time in four years that the state has upped the academic ante sparking protests from local school administrators and teachers, and a test boycott this spring, with hundreds of parents

Merits of change debated

and more applications of math to solving real-life problems. Local school administrators generally agree that Common Core standards set higher expectations for students. Those administrators contend, however, that the Education Department has rushed the new tests into place without adequate preparation for either teachers or students. New York State United Teachers, a statewide umbrella group, found that only two of 20 curriculum guides in elementary math promised by the state had been provided to local educators when spring testing began. The commissioner says were going to leave kids behind if we dont move fast, said Roberta Gerold, superintendent of Middle Country schools and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association. Im suggesting were going to leave kids behind if we move too fast. Gerold drafted her own letter for Middle Country parents. We strongly believe there is no correlation between these latest assessment results and our students ability to be college- and career-ready, the letter states.

State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. releases the test results yesterday in Manhattan. Video: newsday.com/li Albanys testing changes over the past four years have revolved around efforts to bring its requirements more in line with those of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federally funded project. In 2009, to cite one example, the state Education Departments tests indicated that 80.2 percent of eighth-graders in New York were proficient in math. NAEP tests that same year, however, found only 34 percent of the states eighthgraders proficient. The latest statewide passing figure for eighth-grade math 31 percent is nearly identical to the latest NAEP figure of 30 percent, recorded in 2011.

Search state test results for grades 3 to 8 on Long Island since 2011, by district. schools.newsday.com

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PHOTO BY CHARLES ECKERT

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STATE: SCORES WONT HURT TEACHER EVALS

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An eye toward competition

New York is among the first states to incorporate the Common Core into its tests. The states agreement to do so was a major factor in its winning nearly $700 million in federal Race to the Top money in 2010.

FULL DISTRICT-BY-DISTRICT SCORE BREAKDOWN

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See SCORES on A4

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LI TEST SCORES PLUNGE

SCORES from A3
Most national education analysts support recent moves by Kentucky, New York and other states toward testing standards that are uniform and rigorous, saying this could help the United States catch up academically with other advanced countries, such as Finland and Singapore. If you want our students on a par with high-performing countries, this is what its going to take, said Maria Ferguson, executive director of the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan Washington-based agency that provides research on education programs and policies. Local school officials said efforts to improve student learning would go much more smoothly if the Education De-

SAMPLE MATH QUESTIONS

(Answers at bottom of this page)

Take our 10-question sample quiz. newsday.com/education

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THIRD GRADE TheRogersfamilydroveatotalof 482miles,startingonFridayand endingonSunday.Theydrove 138milesonFridayand225miles onSaturday.Howmanymilesdid theydriveonSunday? a) 119 b) 121 c) 363 d) 745 Any such project involving tens of thousands of teachers is likely to have unforeseen consequences, local officials said, especially if the state does not allow ample time to work out the wrinkles. One superintendent on Suffolk Countys South Shore recently told Newsday that, of more than 100 teachers rated in her district so far, only three were deemed by the state to be less than effective in their work. As it happened, all three taught advanced eighth-grade math classes, designed to prepare students for Regents alge-

FIFTH GRADE What is the value of the expression below? 24.5 - 15.75 a) 8.75 b) 8.85 c) 9.25 d) 9.75

SEVENTH GRADE Cassie rolls a fair number cube with 6 faces labeled 1 through 6. She rolls the number cube 300 times. Which result is most likely? a) Cassie will roll a 1 or a 2 about 50 times. b) Cassie will roll a 1 or a 2 exactly 50 times. c)Cassiewillrollaneven numberabout150times. d)Cassiewillrollanevennumberexactly 150times. jected the request on grounds that uniform testing was required, he said. Local administrators said that reinforces their contention that Albany should have taken more time to work out kinks in the testing-and-evaluation system before imposing it. It seems the state has put a lot on the line here, said David Feller, superintendent of North Merrick schools and president of the Nassau Council of School Superintendents. They should have given themselves a little more breathing space. With Michael R. Ebert

LI educators suggestions

partment released test results earlier. They added that yesterdays release comes far too late to allow results to be used to arrange summer training for teachers or fall classroom assignments for students. Department spokesman Tom Dunn said scoring of tests took about three weeks longer than usual this year because of format changes, and the turnaround should be quicker in the future. Local educators also complained that the state has moved too fast in using test scores to help evaluate teachers job performance.

bra exams normally taken by ninth-graders. The superintendent, who asked that the district not be named, said results suggested that the teachers were unfairly penalized because they taught an advanced curriculum different from what is required to prepare students for eighthgrade math tests. Dunn, in response, said the agency had requested a federal waiver that would allow Regents algebra exams to be used, when appropriate, in place of eighth-grade math tests. The U.S. Education Department re-

newsday.com

State: Results wont worsen teacher evals

BY JOHN HILDEBRAND
john.hildebrand@newsday.com

Answers: Third grade: a) 119 Fifth grade: a) 8.75 Seventh grade: c) Cassie will roll an even number about 150 times.

The states education commissioner yesterday reassured teachers that a sharp decline in student passage rates will not affect their job performance ratings. Educators on Long Island and elsewhere have voiced concerns that their students performance on new, tougher tests could adversely affect their evaluations and jobs. A statewide evaluation system adopted in 2011 uses state test scores to calculate 20 percent of teachers ratings. But state officials said the

drop in student scores leaves all teachers in about the same position they were in last year, relatively speaking, because they are ranked against their peers across the state. This years job rankings will not identify a larger proportion of teachers and principals at lower rating categories, Commissioner John B. King Jr. stated in a memo sent to districts. The state Education Department issued initial state ratings for teachers in grades 3 through 8 last fall, but results have not been made public. A second set of ratings, which are generated through a complex mathematical formula, is due

to be delivered to local school districts later this month. Two years of poor ratings can result in eventual job loss. To underline the point that the drop in scores will not affect teachers, the department yesterday unveiled its latest rating statistics. Using 2013 test scores, 16.7 percent of teachers statewide were rated less than effective on the job. Figures for 2012 were virtually the same, with 16.1 percent of teachers rated less than effective. However, there is one possible hitch. Many local districts are using state test results in calculating another 20 percent of teachers rankings.

Unlike state rankings, which are based on relative comparisons, some district rankings have been based on set criteria, local educators said. A district, for example, might stipulate that teachers will be rated effective if their students master at least 75 percent of assigned lessons. Thus, the latest plunge in student scores could skew local teacher ratings, unless districts adjust their criteria to take account of the change. This seems only fair, experts have said, because the statewide decline in scores is because of an upgrade in the states own testing system, rather than to a general deterioration in teachers work.

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Kings memo said the department is developing a system to allow districts to make fair comparisons between 2012 and 2013 test scores in judging teachers performance. Meanwhile, he advised districts that each measure of educator effectiveness should be used judiciously when employment decisions are made.

PHOTO BY RANDEE DADONNA