State Test Scores a Concern in Dobbs Ferry

Though individual students' scores on state tests administered in May to students in grades 3 through 8 have yet to be released, the New York State Education department did recently post districts' overall results on their website—and the number of students to reach "proficiency" in math and language arts is lower across the board than in previous years.

Have kids become less intelligent, teachers less effective, curricula less demanding?

Dobbs Ferry school officials say "no"—the reason for the drop is that the state elevated "cut-scores," making it more difficult for students to achieve those coveted 3's and 4's. 

According to the state's scoring rubric, a score of 1 means "below standard," 2 means "meets basic standard," 3 means "meets proficiency standard, and 4 means "exceeds proficiency standard."

To give an example, of the 120 Springhurst third-graders who took the English/Language Arts exam this year: 5 percent received a score of 1, 29.2 percent received a 2, 42.5 percent a three and 23.3 percent received a 4.

"The distribution of scores is pretty much the same as always," Dobbs Ferry superintendent Debra Kaplan said. "It's just the scores students must reach to be considered 'proficient' that have changed."

Citing a decreasing number of students meeting proficiency each year, the state raised the bar after students had already taken the tests.

In a statement released in July by the State Education Department, Commissioner David Steiner said: "New, higher cut scores have resulted in fewer students scoring at a 'Proficient level.' While that is sobering news, it should cause all of us – the State Education Department, schools, administrators, teachers, and parents – to work ever more effectively together to ensure that all children in New York State get the knowledge and skills they need."

According to state requirements, students who score below proficiency must receive academic intervention services (AIS), or extra help either in the classroom or during free periods. Although students who fall into the category of needing intervention this year—but wouldn't have in previous years—are not required to receive additional services for the 2010-11 school year, Dobbs Ferry will provide them anyway.

"We think it's important that students get these services even if it isn't mandated this year," Jeffrey O'Donnell, Dobbs Ferry's school board president said.

Lower-than-expected scores on certain Regents Exams, Kaplan said, could not as easily be attributed to the scoring methodology.

"A higher number of students than we would have liked failed the chemistry and algebra II/trigonometry tests," Kaplan said. 

Because the state has changed the high school math curriculum multiple times in the last few years, this was the first year students were taught and tested in algebra II and trig.

"We worked on the curriculum for this course with five other districts as best as we could," O'Donnell said. "Clearly it didn't work because there was a high percentage of failures. 

Kaplan said that over the summer teachers and administrators we were able to look at the questions the highest number of students answered incorrectly and devise different methods of teaching those specific topics.

"We ran a week-long intensive session this month for students who failed in June," O'Donnell said.

Many students retook the test last week, and although the scores have been embargoed by the state, O'Donnell said he had a sense that the students had scored higher the second time. 

Going forward, both O'Donnell and Kaplan said the high school math program would definitely be a point of focus for the district.

"To parents whose kids are taking this course next year," O'Donnell said, "I would say not to worry too much. There's nothing better than coming after the year in which a problem occurred. This particular math course will probably be thrown more resources than any other next year."