Elementary student proficiency in English and math took a sharp, but anticipated, plunge, according to standardized test results released by the State Education Department today.
Statewide, only 31 percent of students in third through eighth grade met or exceeded the proficiency standards in English and math. The rest results in Erie and Niagara counties mirrored the statewide decline.
A News analysis of the Erie and Niagara county test results shows that 31.7 percent of students in grades three through eight were proficient in English, and only 29.5 percent were proficient in math. Local city school districts performed the worst on the exams. Buffalo struggled the most, with proficiency rates hovering around 10 percent.
The decline in test scores has been expected since the state implemented new assessments based on the Common Core Learning Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states nationwide. New York is only the second state, after Kentucky, to begin standardized testing this past school year based on the new learning standards that are designed to focus more on curriculum, instruction, and student thinking and reasoning skills.
The Common Core tests were administered for the first time this past year at the elementary level.
“The assessment results today establish a new baseline for student performance and student learning in New York State,” said Education Commissioner John King Jr.
He and other state education leaders repeatedly cautioned that the public should not compare these results to past years’ results and assume that teachers have been teaching less or that students have been learning less.
“There may be some who would try to attack schools and teachers,” King said. “That would be wrong.”
Test results for Erie and Niagara counties showed the same predicted decline as other districts around the state, with Buffalo Public Schools bringing up the rear.
Only 11.5 percent of Buffalo students in grades three through eight met or exceeded the proficiency standards in English, a drop of nearly 59 percent. In math, only 9.6 percent of Buffalo students met or exceeded the standards, a drop of 68 percent over last year’s scores. Those declines are sharper than the statewide average.
Among the Big Five urban school districts across the state, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse had the worst results, a trend consistent with past years. Buffalo outperformed Rochester and Syracuse but fell behind New York City and Yonkers, also a consistent trend in recent years.
In Rochester, the district with the worst performance, only 5 percent of elementary students tested were considered proficient in English and math.
A quick look at fourth- and eighth-grade English and math results showed that even in schools in districts with historically high scores, proficiency levels dropped. The highest local fourth-grade proficiency score in English, for instance, was only 65 percent at Maple West Elementary School in Williamsville. Meanwhile, no children managed to pass the same test at Futures Academy in Buffalo.
Fourth-grade math scores showed an even greater disparity. Ledgeview Elementary in Clarence saw 80 percent of its students meet proficiency standards, while three Buffalo schools – Community School 53, BUILD Academy and Futures Academy – saw no fourth-graders meet proficiency standards.
At the eighth-grade level, Buffalo had both the best and worse English results. City Honors School took the top spot with 80 percent of its students meeting English proficiency levels. But three city schools – Lafayette, Harriet Ross Tubman and Alternative – saw no students meet proficiency standards.
In eighth-grade math, the disparity was worse, with City Honors taking the top spot – 75 percent of its students meeting proficiency standards – but 11 Buffalo schools had zero children proficient in math at the eighth-grade level. They include Futures, Lafayette, International Prep, Herman Badillo, Harriet Ross Tubman, Frank A. Sedita, Dr. Martin Luther King, Community School 53, BUILD and the School of Technology and Alternative schools.
Commissioner King said the new Common Core standardized tests are key to improving students’ college and career readiness and to making the state more nationally and globally competitive. He and other state leaders also expressed ongoing concerns about the achievement gap that continues to result in urban, minority, special education and immigrant student populations performing worst.
He also said that while he understands that many parents may be upset and panicked by the higher standards that result in lower student performance, it’s up to every adult to rise to the challenge.
“There’s no simple answer here,” King said. “There’s just hard work ahead to ensure that all of our students get the help they need. We wouldn’t be better off trying to persuade ourselves that our students are better off when they aren’t.”
News staffers Mary Pasciak and Patrick Lakamp contributed to this story.
The News will update this story online, in print, on the School Zone blog at www.buffalonews.com/schoolzone and on Twitter at @BNschoolzone
email: stan@buffnews.com
Statewide, only 31 percent of students in third through eighth grade met or exceeded the proficiency standards in English and math. The rest results in Erie and Niagara counties mirrored the statewide decline.
A News analysis of the Erie and Niagara county test results shows that 31.7 percent of students in grades three through eight were proficient in English, and only 29.5 percent were proficient in math. Local city school districts performed the worst on the exams. Buffalo struggled the most, with proficiency rates hovering around 10 percent.
The decline in test scores has been expected since the state implemented new assessments based on the Common Core Learning Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states nationwide. New York is only the second state, after Kentucky, to begin standardized testing this past school year based on the new learning standards that are designed to focus more on curriculum, instruction, and student thinking and reasoning skills.
The Common Core tests were administered for the first time this past year at the elementary level.
“The assessment results today establish a new baseline for student performance and student learning in New York State,” said Education Commissioner John King Jr.
He and other state education leaders repeatedly cautioned that the public should not compare these results to past years’ results and assume that teachers have been teaching less or that students have been learning less.
“There may be some who would try to attack schools and teachers,” King said. “That would be wrong.”
Test results for Erie and Niagara counties showed the same predicted decline as other districts around the state, with Buffalo Public Schools bringing up the rear.
Only 11.5 percent of Buffalo students in grades three through eight met or exceeded the proficiency standards in English, a drop of nearly 59 percent. In math, only 9.6 percent of Buffalo students met or exceeded the standards, a drop of 68 percent over last year’s scores. Those declines are sharper than the statewide average.
Among the Big Five urban school districts across the state, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse had the worst results, a trend consistent with past years. Buffalo outperformed Rochester and Syracuse but fell behind New York City and Yonkers, also a consistent trend in recent years.
In Rochester, the district with the worst performance, only 5 percent of elementary students tested were considered proficient in English and math.
A quick look at fourth- and eighth-grade English and math results showed that even in schools in districts with historically high scores, proficiency levels dropped. The highest local fourth-grade proficiency score in English, for instance, was only 65 percent at Maple West Elementary School in Williamsville. Meanwhile, no children managed to pass the same test at Futures Academy in Buffalo.
Fourth-grade math scores showed an even greater disparity. Ledgeview Elementary in Clarence saw 80 percent of its students meet proficiency standards, while three Buffalo schools – Community School 53, BUILD Academy and Futures Academy – saw no fourth-graders meet proficiency standards.
At the eighth-grade level, Buffalo had both the best and worse English results. City Honors School took the top spot with 80 percent of its students meeting English proficiency levels. But three city schools – Lafayette, Harriet Ross Tubman and Alternative – saw no students meet proficiency standards.
In eighth-grade math, the disparity was worse, with City Honors taking the top spot – 75 percent of its students meeting proficiency standards – but 11 Buffalo schools had zero children proficient in math at the eighth-grade level. They include Futures, Lafayette, International Prep, Herman Badillo, Harriet Ross Tubman, Frank A. Sedita, Dr. Martin Luther King, Community School 53, BUILD and the School of Technology and Alternative schools.
Commissioner King said the new Common Core standardized tests are key to improving students’ college and career readiness and to making the state more nationally and globally competitive. He and other state leaders also expressed ongoing concerns about the achievement gap that continues to result in urban, minority, special education and immigrant student populations performing worst.
He also said that while he understands that many parents may be upset and panicked by the higher standards that result in lower student performance, it’s up to every adult to rise to the challenge.
“There’s no simple answer here,” King said. “There’s just hard work ahead to ensure that all of our students get the help they need. We wouldn’t be better off trying to persuade ourselves that our students are better off when they aren’t.”
News staffers Mary Pasciak and Patrick Lakamp contributed to this story.
The News will update this story online, in print, on the School Zone blog at www.buffalonews.com/schoolzone and on Twitter at @BNschoolzone
email: stan@buffnews.com