Decline in State Test Scores Indicates Room for Improvement at Blind Brook

Though the Blind Brook-Rye Union Free School District performed well overall on the 2010 English Language Arts and Mathematics Assessments, test scores declined compared to last year, indicating the district needs to devote more resources to certain subject areas, particularly its math curriculum.

Deborah Weisel and Karen Bronson, the principals of Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School and Blind Brook Middle School, gave a presentation at Monday night's Board of Education meeting outlining the test scores.

Weisel and Bronson prefaced their presentation of the results by explaining in detail how the state changed its testing standards this year to better gauge college readiness. The state raised its "cut score" this year from 650, the cutoff point used to determine where each student ranked in proficiency. The state assessment categorizes students anywhere from Level 1 and 2, which indicates at or below proficiency in either English Language Arts or Math, or Level 3 or 4, which indicates at or above standard proficiency.

Both principals pinpointed the change as the primary reason fewer Blind Brook's students placed into Level 3 and 4.

"Cut points were raised significantly across ELA and math, but they were raised most significantly in math for this year," Bronson said.

"For all the right reasons statewide, there needed to be a better predictor for college success, particularly in ELA Math," Bronson added.

Blind Brook's test scores dropped in several areas this year. For example, in Grade 3 math, more than 83 percent of students had a Level 3 or 4 proficiency, a decline from last year when 100 percent of students who took the assessment tested at that level. In Grade 8 math, about 70 percent of students had a level 3 or 4 proficiency, a huge decline from the 99 percent of students who tested at that level last year.

Weisel and Bronson said that Blind Brook's test scores would have risen if the state did not change its standards.

"Our 3rd grade students' performance at level 3 and 4 [on the ELA exam] would have increased by about 13 percent. Grade 4 students at Level 3 and 4—that's meeting and exceeded [standard]—would have increased 8 percent," Weisel said. 

Weisel added that 5th graders' performance on the ELA exam would have increased more than 25 percent. In math, the results would have increased anywhere from 2-4 percent according to grade level.

At Blind Brook Middle School, Bronson said the ELA results would have increased anywhere from 7-8 percent. The results for math would have increased anywhere from 6-29 percent according to grade level. The latter figure reflects the results for 8th graders, where the district's test scores suffered the most noticeable decline.

Bronson said the district's Professional Learning Communities—an approach to staff development and teaching in which teachers and administrators share knowledge amongst each other and use that information to engage students in the classroom—has had a significant impact on the English curriculum. This approach has yet to be used for math, but Bronson said it would be implemented in the coming year.

She said the 8th grade math scores may have also declined because students in that grade don't deem the assessments as important as other tests they will take during the year.

"Student performance on state test doesn't always reflect what students are
learning in the classroom. What they're doing in the classroom with excellent teaching is not necessarily reflective of what comes out there," Bronson said, pointing to a Power Point of the test results.

Weisel and Bronson said although there is room for improvement, in some areas Blind Brook outperformed 11 other comparative districts, including Rye City, Scarsdale, Briarcliff Manor and Chappaqua. However, many of the districts Blind Brook used for comparison have more students and are larger—or even double the size—of its school district. Even with that uneven comparison, Blind Brook still ranked 10th out of 11 districts for Level 3 and 4 proficiency in 8th grade math.

Bronson said the district would work to improve student performance by looking at the data to determine areas of proficiency and areas for growth. The district will also examine current intervention services to seek ways to provide academic intervention in early grades, and will also test students using state assessment exams from previous years in order to gauge their proficiency and problem areas that need more attention.

"Our only focus isn't on the results of the state test," Bronson said. "The focus in departments and in PLCs is going to be much more data-driven than it has been in the past."

That idea ruffled at least one board member, Lawrence Engle, who said that the focus should be elsewhere.

"I really don't care about the state standards," he repeated three consecutive times. "They can change the state standards every year, if we're doing the right kind of job it really shouldn't matter what the state standards are. We should be doing a top job, and yet we see these math numbers go down."

"I think the staff needs to have a sense of two words: urgency and accountability," Engle added. "This is not acceptable."

Weisel said she agreed with Engle that test results shouldn't be the focus of the curriculum.

"I don't want to live by the rule of the state, but that is where we are right now," she said.

Bronson added that the state assessments are useful, even though they may not be 100 percent indicative of what is being taught and learned in Blind Brook classrooms.

"State assessments are good tests, smart tests and are worthy of our attention," she said.