State report card shows all schools at or above state proficiency levels on assessments
By Sarah Hall
Editor
Students in the Baldwinsville Central School District are generally performing well on standardized tests, according to the New York State Report Card issued by the New York State Education Department.
The district recently issued a summary of the data included in the report card, reflecting scores for the 2015-16 school year’s standardized tests for English/Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science and nine different Regents exams.
According to the June edition of the district newsletter, The Hive, third through fifth grade students at B’ville’s five elementary schools, on average, received scores of 3 or 4, indicating proficiency, on the ELA and math exams at a percentage higher than the state average. Fourth-graders also exceeded the state proficiency average on the state science exam.
- Third grade: 42 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 42 percent statewide); 55 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 44 percent statewide)
- Fourth grade: 46 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 41 percent statewide); 55 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 44 percent statewide); 91 percent were proficient on the science (vs. 88 percent statewide)
- Fifth grade: 47 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 33 percent statewide); 52 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 45 percent statewide)
Meanwhile, there was a wider range of scores among sixth through eighth grade students at Ray Middle School and Durgee Junior High on both the ELA and the math exam.
- Sixth grade: 29 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 34 percent statewide); 44 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 40 percent statewide)
- Seventh grade: 35 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 35 percent statewide); 44 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 36 percent statewide)
- Eighth grade: 40 percent were proficient on the ELA (vs. 41 percent statewide); 17 percent were proficient on the math (vs. 38 percent statewide); 90 percent were proficient on the science (vs. 69 percent statewide).
The report card also includes the percentage of passing scores for the English (78 percent), geometry (83 percent), Algebra II/Trigonometry (64 percent), Global History (93 percent), U.S. history and government (98 percent), Living Environment (97 percent), Earth Science (69 percent), chemistry (98 percent) and physics (100 percent) exams.
Like other schools in the area, Baldwinsville’s data is somewhat skewed by the fact that a good number of students opted out of the exams, according to Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Joe DeBarbieri.
“It varies from building to building but, if I look at… 2015-16, we had overall district-wide 27 percent test refusal rate,” DeBarbieri said. “Does that impact us? Absolutely.”
The 2016-17 test data might also differ from previous years, DeBarbieri said, because the district had students in grades three and six through eight do computer-based testing.
“We’re interested to see how that will play into the test results for the students,” he said. “We’ll see if that impacts our results for ’16-17.”
