Suburban Schools Improve in State Tests ; More Effort Made to Help Weaker Pupils

By Barbara O’Brien

Children in Western New York, like those around the state, generally have improved in math and English this year, according to test scores released Monday by New York State.

Results improved overall, with 81 percent of pupils statewide achieving the math standards, compared to 73 percent last year, State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said. English scores also improved, with 69 percent of pupils achieving the state’s learning standards, compared to 63 percent last year.

Local schools that improved in math and English this year say their analysis of data has helped them pinpoint pupils who are struggling.

At Lancaster, 89.9 percent of eighth-graders met and exceeded the standards in math this year, up from 68.4 percent in 2006. In English Language Arts, it was 78.2, up more than 35 percent.

“We’re taking a look at what our students are doing well and what they’re not doing well at,” said Michael J. Vallely, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and pupil services at Lancaster Central School District. “The biggest thing is our data plan. Over the last two years, we’ve made a very concerted effort to have all teachers evolve comparable data.”

Williamsville Central schools, which led Erie and Niagara counties in fourth- and eighth-grade math and were second in eighth- grade ELA, also closely monitor their pupils.

“Teachers are working all the time in data teams now in order to look at the data to see places we have to improve on,” said Petronilla Amantia, instructional specialist for mathematics at Williamsville.

Districts have to be careful about concentrating on just one area. At Cheektowaga-Sloan, eighth-grade math scores went up 17 percentage points over three years and fourth-grade ELA went up 19 percentage points. But fourth-grade math and eighth-grade ELA went down slightly.

“We’re making an effort there. Obviously we’re not making enough of an effort in the other,” Superintendent Joseph P. Mazgajewski said.

He said there is a tendency to focus a little harder on areas needing improvement.

“You need to make sure your curriculum is aligned and make sure everybody is hitting the points,” Mazgajewski said. “If you’re not consistent or you miss something, then it shows up on the test.”

But sometimes it doesn’t show up on the test. At Union-Pleasant Elementary School in the Hamburg Central School District, one page of answers from one class was not scanned. The district has notified the state Education Department, said Greg Davis, assistant superintendent for information services.

“They aren’t going to fix it until August,” he said.

When that happens, there will be many more pupils passing the assessment than the 64.1 percent shown on current results, Davis said.

The increases in scores can be linked to a substantial increase in state funding, $3.4 billion over the past two years, and the development of grade-by-grade curriculums, said Regents Chancellor Robert M. Bennett.

“The heavy lifting is in the classroom. It’s what teachers, it’s what students supported by their parents, are doing,” Mills said. “Youngsters can master this content if they are taught. Apparently they are being taught and taught well.”

Bennett said the best practices should be shared from teacher to teacher and school to school.

“If you can do it in this school, why can’t you do it in this school? Usually it’s the principal,” Bennett said.

Mills said there have been small yearly improvements.

“We also see many fewer students performing at the bottom,” Mills said.

Gradually the number of pupils scoring the lowest, 1, on the assessment, is decreasing as those “1s” move up to “2s,” and those scoring 2 improve to 3, he said.

Those scoring Level 1 show serious academic problems, Level 2 shows pupils partially meet the learning standards, Level 3 shows pupils meet the standards and Level 4 shows they exceed the standards.

e-mail: bobrien@buffnews.com

Originally published by NEWS STAFF REPORTER.

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