Schools

Malverne State Test Scores Show Some Improvement, Declines

Nearly half of third, seventh and eighth graders fail ELA exams while percentage of students earning 4's rises.

The Malverne school district fared better on the 2012 New York State Assessments in Math and English Language Arts (ELA), but still, a significant percentage of students in Grades 3 through 8 received failing grades.

The results of the tests, which were given in April, were released by the State Education Department (SED) earlier this month. The data indicates that Malverne students had the most trouble with the ELA exams.

The worst figures were for students in Grade 7 and 8 and third graders at Davison Avenue Intermediate School. Nearly half of Malverne's seventh graders (46.8 percent), eighth graders (42.5 percent) and third graders (40.8) failed the ELA exam. The results weren't much better in other grades, where roughly a third of students in Grade 6 (38.1 percent) and Grade 5 (32.6 percent), and a quarter of the students in Grade 4 (26.5 percent) received failing scores of 1's and 2's.

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The failure rates were lower on the Math exams, with approximately 77 percent of third and sixth graders, 82 percent of fourth graders, 71 percent of fifth graders, 76 percent of seventh graders and 89 percent of eigth graders passing. In fact, no eighth grader received a score lower than a 2 this year.

While the scores for Malverne's third and six graders took a dive from last year, with five percent less of these students passing, the district saw some improvements in Grades 4, 5, 7 and 8.

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Although large percentages of students failed the state exams, Malverne did see a bump in the amount of students earning 4's, considered the "Mastery" level. In 2011, less than 15 percent of Malverne students in Grades 3-8 earned 4's on their exams, but this year, more than 30 percent of students in Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7, and 20 percent in Grade 8 achieved this on their Math exams. (There was also noticeable progress in the number students earning 4's on the ELA test -- up from 3.9 to 10.7 percent in Grade 3, from 0.9 to 13.2 percent in Grade 4, and from 3 to 14.8 percent in Grade 5.)

This progress was in line with the statewide trend. somAccording to a press release from the NYSED, the average scale scores on this year’s exams in both ELA and math are slightly higher than last year in most grades, and there is a small increase in the percentage of grades 3-8 students across the State who met or exceeded the proficiency standard on both exams.

"There is some positive momentum in these numbers," said Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch. "But too many of our students, especially students of color, English Language Learners and special education students, are currently not on a course for college and career readiness. That’s why we are continuing to press forward with critical reforms to ensure all of our kids are ready for college and careers."

Referring to the Common Core Learning Standards and the mandated Annual Professional Performance Review plan, Tisch said, "In the fall we will begin to phase in a new, more challenging, content rich curriculum and continue to press for the implementation of a rigorous teacher evaluation system in every district across the state."

"We’re building a ladder, grade by grade, to college and career readiness," Commissioner John B. King, Jr. said. "These results are a small, positive sign of growth, but not enough of our students are climbing as steadily as they should be. Next school year, we start to implement reforms to make that ladder strong enough to support all our students as they climb toward college and career readiness."  

See attached document above for a breakdown of Malverne's 2012 scores, or click here to access all the results for school districts in New York State. 


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