The New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test scores for the 2009-2010 school year have been released. The document is rather larger so here are the relevant sections for the schools in Harlem and Upper Manhattan:
District 3 - pgs. 622-639
District 4 - pgs. 640-654
District 5 - pgs. 655-670
District 6 - pgs. 671-684
Before we get into any of the commentary about the results (and there's plenty already), let's go over what these levels mean.
According to a press release from the The New York State Education Department (NYSED):
In order to align our Grade 3-8 assessments with a new college-readiness goal, the 2010 Math and ELA Proficiency Standard scores (Level 3) have changed from 650 where they have been set in the past to these scores:
| Grade | Math | ELA |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 673 | 658 |
| 7 | 670 | 664 |
| 6 | 674 | 662 |
| 5 | 674 | 666 |
| 4 | 676 | 668 |
| 3 | 684 | 662 |
The Level 2 score, renamed the Basic Standard, has been set at a level that gives students a 75% chance of earning a Regents score of 65, sufficient to earn a Regents diploma. The 2010 Math and ELA Basic Standard scores have changed from where they have been set in the past to these scores:
| Grade | Math | ELA |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 639 | 627 |
| 7 | 639 | 642 |
| 6 | 640 | 644 |
| 5 | 640 | 647 |
| 4 | 636 | 637 |
| 3 | 661 | 643 |
The Performance levels for students have been renamed to reflect more precisely for parents, teacher and schools whether a student is below, meeting, or exceeding the Proficiency standard. The new labels are:
| Performance Level | Label |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Below Standard |
| Level 2 | Meets Basic Standard |
| Level 3 | Meets Proficiency Standard |
| Level 4 | Exceeds Proficiency Standard |
To summarize, students scores need to be at Level 3 or higher in order to be grade level proficient. With that in mind, no matter how you feel about testing, these results are not good. There will be a lot of spin and parsing of these numbers in the next few days. Inside Schools has some further breakdown of the results here.
According to the DOE, parents will receive their children’s scores in the second week of August.
Are you happy with your school's results?
