Predictions of plummeting scores on state standardized tests have proven to be correct, as a significant majority of students failed to meet proficiency standards this year.
State Education Commissioner John King Jr. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, released results of April assessment test results in mathematics and English language arts for third- to eighth-grade students, and only 31 percent of students statewide met or exceeded proficiency standards. The declining scores were attributed to the state transitioning to the Common Core Standards this year. The shift to the new standards was controversial, with local educators lobbying for more time to implement the Common Core in classrooms.
State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said what students “need to know” has changed and the test scores represent a “new baseline” to measure learning. Tisch said school administrators and teachers worked “extraordinarily hard” to implement the Common Core.
“Our students face very real challenges,” Tisch said in a statement. “But it’s better to have our students challenged now — when teachers and parents are there to help — than frustrated later when they start college or try to find a job and discover they are unprepared.”
King argued the declining scores “do not reflect a drop in performance,” but are a better measure of how college and career ready students are compared to previous standards.
“I understand these scores are sobering for parents, teachers and principals. It’s frustrating to see our children struggle,” King said in a statement. “But we can’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed by frustration; we must be energized by this opportunity. The results we’ve announced today are not a critique of past efforts; they’re a new starting point on a roadmap to future success.”
Scores within Level 3 are determined to be meeting standards and top tier scores in Level 4 are considered to be exceeding standards. Scores falling within Level 2 are considered below standard, and Level 1 scores are the lowest category.
Bethlehem Central School District nearly had 50 percent of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in both ELA and math tests across all grades, with its lowest score being eighth-grade math, with around 60 percent of students not meeting proficiency.
Guilderland Central School District typically had a range of students meeting or exceeding standards on both tests across all grades from around 45 percent to 52 percent.
South Colonie Central School District’s best performance overall was in fourth-grade math with 43.5 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, and its lowest overall score was in fifth-grade math with almost 79 percent of students falling below proficiency.
North Colonie Central School District’s best score overall was in eighth-grade ELA with 57 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards, and its lowest overall score was in fourth-grade ELA with nearly 65 percent of students falling below proficiency.
Voorheesville Central School District only had two overall test scores falling below 49 percent of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards, which was 33.7 percent of seventh-grade math and 39 percent of eighth-grade math scores. The district’s highest score was in third-grade math with nearly 74 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.
Voorheesville Superintendent Teresa Thayer Snyder said test scores were typically 30 to 40 percent lower for each student.
“These tests were intentionally designed to obtain precisely the outcomes that were rendered,” Snyder said in a statement. “The rationale behind this is to demonstrate that our most successful students are not so much and our least successful students are dreadful.”
Snyder said “it does not mean much” even if a student scored at Level 4 last year, but dropped this year to Level 2.
“The tragic part of this story is the collateral damage — the little children who worked so hard this year, who endured so many distressing hours of testing, who failed to reach proficiency, all because of the manipulation of the scaling,” she said in a statement.
Robert Reidy Jr., executive director of the state Council of School Superintendents, claimed superintendents statewide “overwhelmingly” support the new standards.
“The Common Core standards represent an unprecedented shift in our expectations for schools and the students they teach. Students who meet these new expectations will be better prepared for the demands of the world they will inherit,” Reidy said in a statement. “With more time and resources, our schools will refine their practices and enable more and more students to reach the standards and surpass them.”