Long Island students' state test scores plunge

Originally published: August 7, 2013 6:26 AM
Updated: August 7, 2013 11:09 AM
By JOHN HILDEBRAND  john.hildebrand@newsday.com

Photo credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara, 2011 | Passage rates on state tests plunged by more than half in math and nearly as much in English, after the state Education Department moved to more rigorous national academic standards known as the Common Core.

Passage rates on state tests plunged by more than half in math and nearly as much in English, after the state Education Department moved to more rigorous national academic standards known as the Common Core.

The percentage of students in grades 3-8 deemed proficient or better in math declined to 31.0 percent in the latest tests, compared with 64.8 percent in 2012.

In English, the proportion of students deemed proficient or better dropped to 31.1 percent statewide, according to results from the latest tests administered in April. That compared with 55.1 percent of students deemed proficient or better in 2012.

Statistics show Long Island students, for the most part, mirrored the statewide trend.

The percentage of Nassau County third-graders meeting or exceeding state proficiency standards in English in 2013 was 45.7 percent, compared with 72.2 percent in 2012. The passage rate for Suffolk County third-graders in English was 34.3 percent this year, compared with 63.2 percent last year.

The percentage of Nassau County fifth-graders meeting or exceeding state proficiency standards in math in 2013 was 41.7 percent, compared with 80.5 percent last year. The passage rate for Suffolk County fifth-graders in math was 30.8 percent, compared with 73.7 percent last year.

State education officials have scheduled a 10:30 a.m. news conference in Manhattan to answer questions about the results, released an hour earlier by the department. The fact that tens of thousands of students on Long Island and hundreds of thousands statewide are being reported as failing English and math tests for the first time has sparked protests from local school administrators, teachers and parents.

Many contend the state is rushing the move to tougher testing and artificially lowering passing rates through manipulation of cutoff scores.

"It's almost like a setup, if you will," said Roberta Gerold, superintendent of Middle Country schools and president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

State school officials, anticipating an angry reaction, have sought to reassure the public that lower scores simply reflect a move to more rigorous standards, not a decline in achievement.

"The lower proficiency rates that we will see do not reflect that schools are teaching less than they did last year, or that students are learning less," state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. said Tuesday.

This marks the second time in four years that the state has raised testing requirements, and is by far the most ambitious revamping of standards so far.

State and federal authorities say the effort will provide students with a more realistic picture of whether they are being adequately prepared for colleges and careers. Those officials note that more than half of high school graduates entering community colleges in New York and many other states wind up in remedial classes because they lack essential skills.

New York State's rapid push for higher achievement won an endorsement Tuesday from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who said the state is "showing courage in telling students where they stand." The federal government has pushed states to adopt Common Core standards through awards of Race to the Top school-improvement grants.

New York State is among the first to incorporate Common Core guidelines into its tests. Most states will not launch such testing until the 2014-15 school year, when new uniform batteries of tests will become available nationwide.

Some Long Island education leaders note that school districts generally responded to a previous state raising of cutoff scores in 2010 by beefing up instruction to boost passage rates.

"It's a big challenge," said Thomas Rogers, superintendent of Nassau BOCES. "But we rose to the last challenge, and I'm confident we'll do it again."

With Michael Ebert