Test scores statewide rise third year in a row

ALBANY — State test scores for elementary and middle school students were generally up across the north country and New York as a whole.

On Monday, state Education Department officials released the third annual round of test results for students in grades three through eight on state-mandated tests in mathematics and English Language Arts.

In English, Lewis County schools placed the most students in levels 3 and 4, which include those who "meet" and "exceed" learning standards, respectively, with 71.36 percent of 1,986 students tested falling into one of those two categories. In math, 83.1 percent of the 1,979 students tested in the county met or exceeded the standards.

St. Lawrence County led the way in the math test with 83.33 percent of 6,775 students meeting or exceeding standards, while in English, 71.2 percent of the 6,788 students tested hit or topped the standards.

Statewide, 81 percent of students tested met or exceeded the mathematics standards, compared to 73 percent in 2007, while 69 percent of students did the same in English, versus 63 percent in 2007.

In Jefferson County, 81.9 percent of the 8,905 students tested met or exceeded the math standards, while 70.46 percent of the 8,179 students tested did so in English.

In terms of mean scores, St. Lawrence County students in grades three through eight recorded the area's highest average mean score for mathematics, 675.56, with 6,775 students tested. St. Lawrence also posted the highest average mean score for English, 664.90, with 6,788 students taking the test.

State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills said the most important trends occur as a group of students advances in grade, they retain and build on the information learned to show continued advances at higher grade levels.

"When youngsters are able to hang on to their achievement gain and hold on to it — this is good," Mr. Mills said. "That's what people are paying for."

He credited significant investment over the past two years at both the local and state levels for the overall improvements. But he stressed that while black and Hispanic students have improved their scores in both subjects at all grade levels, they still lag behind their white contemporaries.

"When you get gains like this, that's the time to bear down," Mr. Mills said. "We've seen that some kids can succeed, now why aren't they all doing it?"

Nonetheless, the results leave administrators hopeful.

"These are encouraging and exciting results across the board," said Robert M. Bennett, chancellor of the state Board of Regents. Closing the achievement gap is our constant target. The news today confirms that our reforms are striking closer. We cannot rest until achievement is up everywhere and the gap is closed for all children in New York State."

Complete test results for all counties, districts and schools are available online.