Baldwinsville — Seventh-graders taking the new math and science curricula in the Baldwinsville Central School District are on par with their performance as sixth-graders last year, according to a 10-week update on the new curricula.
Joseph DeBarbieri, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, presented data on the middle-level math and science programs at the Nov. 23 school board meeting.
“We know the curriculum is different … but we also know that we’re preparing them for the Regents,” DeBarbieri said of the more rigorous seventh-grade classes.
According to DeBarbieri’s presentation, 90 percent of seventh-graders have a grade of 65 or above in this year’s new science class. As sixth-graders, 91 percent of the same student cohort were passing their science class last year.
As for math, this year’s seventh-graders have a 93 percent passing rate compared to 92 percent as sixth-graders.
Looking at just students with disabilities, 81 percent of seventh-graders with disabilities are passing math, compared to 79 percent as sixth-graders last year. In science, 69 percent of those seventh-graders are passing, compared to 74 percent in sixth grade.
Despite Superintendent Dr. David Hamilton’s assurance the board that “there’s been no harm” to the students’ achievements with rollout of the new math and science curricula, board members expressed confusion about how the district presented the data and concern about the dip in science performance of students with disabilities.
“Is this showing progress?” asked board member Steve Schweitzer. “I can’t take these numbers and make a determination. … It doesn’t give me the full story. It doesn’t come right out and tell me if we’re successful.”
Schweitzer and other board members expressed confusion about how the data was presented.
DeBarbieri explained that the data compare this year’s seventh-graders’ performance in math and science classes at the 10-week mark to their performance as sixth-graders at the same point in the 2014-15 school year. DeBarbieri’s presentation also compared the students’ grades compared to the previous school year’s accelerated and non-accelerated seventh-grade classes. He also presented data comparing this year’s ninth-grade Living Environment students to last year’s Earth Science classes.
continued — Hamilton said it was hard to compile data that could track the seventh-graders’ progress because this is the first year the district has implemented its Regents preparation math and science courses for all seventh-graders. He said comparing this year’s seventh-grade progress to last year’s seventh-graders would be like comparing apples and oranges.
“The only apples we can compare are the students themselves,” Hamilton said.
Board member Sally Dayger pointed out that while the majority of seventh-graders with disabilities are passing science, about 30 percent of them are not, compared to 10 percent of the total cohort. In math, 18 percent of seventh-graders with disabilities are failing, compared to 7 percent of the total cohort.
“The [disabled] students are falling into this range much faster. It looks like those students are not succeeding,” Dayger said. “That really disturbs me. What are they doing to take care of those students?”
Hamilton said the district is extending supports to all students, not just those with disabilities.
Board member Jim Goulet said that not all students with disabilities are the same and some might “rise to the occasion” later in the school year.
“Some of those students who weren’t successful the first 10 weeks might get it together,” Goulet said.
BOE Vice President Jeffrey Marier suggested the district come up with specific parameters for the next progress update.
“When we look at this again in 10 weeks, we need to frame out what we consider success,” Marier said.
Hamilton said district officials would “put [their] heads together and take another swing at presenting the data in a more transparent way.”
Despite the board’s difficulty with the data, board member Christy Bond applauded the middle-level students’ apparent success with more rigorous material.
“That has to be a credit to those students, parents and teachers,” Bond said.
Bond also said the new curricula open up “access” to higher-level courses for all students, including those with disabilities.
As for the future of ninth-grade science classes, Hamilton said he is forming a subcommittee to determine whether ninth-graders should take Living Environment or Earth Science. Historically, he said students are more successful on the Living Environment exam, and more teachers are certified to teach that course than Earth Science.
