East Hampton Holds Steady in NYS Test Scores

When it comes to meeting state Education Department academic goals, East Hampton area schools are holding steady despite tightening school budgets and new state mandates.

That’s according to a report revealing English and math test scores for elementary and middle school students recently released by the state’s education department. 

Here's a sampling of how fared with regard to meeting or exceeding proficiency standards in English and math exams.

Grade/Test 2011-12 2010-11 4 - ELA 64.7% 67% 4 - Math 78.8% 75.2% 8 - ELA 78.4% 78.6% 8 - Math 87.2% 87.9%

Grade/Test 2011-12 2010-11 4 - ELA 72.7% 66.7% 4- Math 86.4% 76.3% 8 - ELA 78.6% 64.7% 8 - Math 89.3% 91.2%

Montauk Superintendent and Principal Jack Perna was pleased with the scores. "Of course, there is always room for improvement," he said. "We will be focusing on (just like all New York State schools) the new "Common Core Standards" for next year in Math and ELA. Most grade levels (1-8) will be using new books that are designed to do just that." The theme of the new state standards is "depth not breadth," he said. "We are looking forward to the new approach."

Grade/Test 2011-12 2010-11 4 - ELA 58.4% 57.4% 4 - Math 70.7% 67.7% 8 - ELA 74.6% 55.6% 8 - Math 95.6% 89.3%

Grade/Test 2011-12 2010-11 4 - ELA 75% 80% 4- Math 81.3% 86.6% 6- ELA 93.8% 88.9% 6- Math 93.8% 100%

Amagansett Superintendent Eleanor Tritt said that the administration pays close attention to the achievement levels reached by students each year. "As in the past, the percentage of students who achieved proficiency was higher than for both the State and Suffolk County," she said, though she cautioned in looking at percentages exclusively because of the small class sizes in the school. "In our school, a single student may account for 8 percent to as much as 17 percent," she said. A more accurate measure is the average score. 

"We always strive for continuous improvement in all we do," she said. "This year we are focusing on expanding academic vocabulary skills to enhance reading comprehension, increasing complexity of informational texts and increasing speed and accuracy with mathematical calculations."

Grade/Test 2011-12 2010-11 4 - ELA 75.7% 84% 4 - Math 80.8% 78.7% 8 - ELA 73.8% 65.7% 8 - Math 70.4% 62.9%

See the full state report for a school-by-school breakdown, and to see how other neighboring districts performed. The analysis from 2011 is also available.

Newsday reports Long Island schools outperformed the rest of the state. 

Incremental gains were seen statewide, according to the state education department. The latest report shows that students scored slightly higher this year in both the English and math exams, compared with last year, and that there was a small increase in the percentage of grades 3-8 students across the state who met or exceeded the proficiency standard on both exams.

However, state education officials seem to be setting sights on bigger gains. 

State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said in a statement that "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. 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."

In looking at students in grades 3-8 across the state, the education department is reporting that 55.1 percent of students met or exceeded the English proficiency standard, up from 52.8 in 2011. In addition, 64.8 percent met or exceeded the standard in math, up from 63.3 percent last year.