Prior Years' Data:
1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 2005 2006

Resources:

2007 - NYSED English Language Arts Test Press Release and Data
2007 Gr. 3-8 ELA Raw Score to Scale Score Conversion Charts
2007 Gr. 3-8 ELA Scale Score to Performance Level Conversion Chart
Standard Performance Index Target Ranges
Scoring Key & Item Maps
2007 ELA Tests
ELA scores no cause for celebration

2007 - NYSED Math Test Press Release and Data
2007 Gr. 3-8 Math Raw Score to Scale Score Conversion Charts
2007 Gr. 3-8 Math Score to Performance Level Conversion Chart
Standard Performance Index Target Ranges
Scoring Key & Item Maps
2007 Math Tests
Math Scores Climb
Exam Scores Count as Success

Item Analysis Based on All 2007 ELA & Math Data
Item Analysis Based on All 2007 ELA & Math Benchmarks
Technical Reports on Exams
nySTART
nySTART Demo
nyPARENTS
This is a test. Results may vary.

TABLES AND CHARTS

Summary Data
Percentage of NY Schools Having Higher Scores Than S-G
A Note on Making Comparisons Across Years
Statewide ELA-4 Scores 1999 to Present
Statewide Math-4 Scores 1999 to Present
Statewide ELA-8 Scores 1999 to Present
Statewide Math-8 Scores 1999 to Present
S-G Math & English Scores by Performance Levels
S-G Ranking Among 41 Capital District Schools
The Range of Passing Scores on All Exams -- 2006, Capital District

2007 4th & 8th Grade ELA Results
Capital District Performance on the 4th-Grade ELA Exam
2007 4th-Grade ELA School District Rankings
Area ELA-4 Grade Point Average with High, Low & S-G
Capital District Performance on the 8th-Grade ELA Exam
2007 8th-Grade ELA School District Rankings
Area ELA-8 Grade Point Average with High, Low & S-G

2007 4th & 8th Grade Math Results
Capital District Performance on the 4th-Grade Math Exam
2007 4th-Grade Math School District Rankings
Area Math-4 Grade Point Average with High, Low & S-G
Capital District Performance on the 8th-Grade Math Exam
2007 8th-Grade Math School District Rankings
Area Math-8 Grade Point Average with High, Low & S-G

3rd, 5th, 6th & 7th Grade ELA & Math Charts
Percentage Passing All ELA Exams in the Capital District
2007 3rd-Grade ELA School District Rankings
2007 5th-Grade ELA School District Rankings
2007 6th-Grade ELA School District Rankings
2007 7th-Grade ELA School District Rankings

Percentage Passing All Math Exams in the Capital District
2007 3rd-Grade Math School District Rankings
2007 5th-Grade Math School District Rankings
2007 6th-Grade Math School District Rankings
2007 7th-Grade Math School District Rankings

Five Final Graphics
Area Average Pass Rate on All Exams by Grade
Area GPA for All Exams and All Years
2007 Statewide ELA Rank For S-G
2007 Statewide Math Rank For S-G
2007 Statewide Overall Rank For S-G

As the table pertains to Scotia-Glenville, its performance on the 3rd- and 4th-grade ELA exams has dramatically improved.  This is the level of performance I believe our children are capable of producing on every state exam.  We've been near this level before--in 2000--from which we gradually fell to a much lower ranking.  But I'm optimistic that this time will be different.  Around 2000, the district switched to a largely discredited whole language approach to English, which we've been moving away from.  And this year, we began grouping  students by ability for reading.  I'm hopeful that these and not transient or random variables are responsible for the improved outcome on this exam.  We won't know for sure until we see the scores for 2008 and 2009.

S-G's ranking on the 5th-grade ELA exam dramatically fell.  This is because last year's scores were not accurate, as I explained here.  Therein, I said, "If the [2006 5th-grade ELA] score is 'real,' then one would expect the 2007 6th-grade results to be similarly high."  They aren't.  They're below last year's state ranking.  I now believe that the most likely cause of last year's atypically high percentage of 5th-graders scoring in the top level was the misinterpretation or misapplication of one or more scoring rubrics.

Nearly every district in the state (89.2%) had better 8th-grade ELA results this year.  See here and here.  Was this because teachers and students finally got it after 8 years of state exams?  All of them?  All at once?  Highly unlikely.  One teacher opined on my website, "I predict we will all see a big jump in [8th-grade] test scores from last year, particularly in math, as the tests this year were more reasonable and fair than last year."  Read "more reasonable and fair" as being "easier."  That's the most likely cause of nearly all the gain on the 8th-grade ELA exam.  S-G's mean score, relative to other school districts, ranks about the same as last year, but the percentage of our students scoring in the top level tied our previous high, with 33% of the schools in the state having a higher top-level score.

Another reason why 8th-grade exam scores may have suddenly improved is because previously students had a 4-year gap between state exams, but for the first time, this year's 8th-graders took an ELA test in the 7th grade, too.  The increase in test frequency may have produced higher exam scores through the process of repetition.  If that's the case, one would expect to see an improvement in the 7th grade ELA scores from last year.  They, also improved, by an average of 2 percentage points in the capital region, so the improvement was not as dramatic as the 9 percentage point improvement on the 8th-grade exam.  Doubtless, increasing testing frequency has an impact on test scores, but it's just one factor and likely not the single biggest factor driving the increase on the 8th-grade ELA exam.

S-G's performance on the math exams is a different story.  Although S-G's math scores improved on 5 out of 6 of the exams compared to last year, 45% of NY districts for which I have complete data (660 districts) had higher mean scores or higher pass rates on all 6 exams.  78% had better results on 5 of the exams, and 95.5% had better results on 4 of the exams, compared to their results from last year.  Relative to the improvements made in other school districts, S-G's mean score and top level rankings fell on every exam except two, for which its top-level ranking remained unchanged from last year.  Most other districts were able to make greater improvements on the math exams than SG and our statewide standing on math exams fell appreciably this year.

Here are some of the factors that affect exam outcomes:

What bothers me now is that our math performance is declining relative to other school districts and our ELA performance relative to other school districts declines as our children move through higher grades.  That shouldn't be happening.  One possible reason for the ELA problem could be the vestiges of the whole language curriculum.  Another reason may be a relatively high number of move-ins or transient students.  Finally, our curriculum may not progress as smoothly and as consistently as it should.  I briefly discuss this below.

Note on comparisons across years:  The table above, comparing the ranking of S-G's performance relative to other school districts, is the best means for making comparisons to earlier years with data from 2006 and thereafter.  In 2006, the state recalibrated its exams, which I commented on here.  By comparing rankings rather than scores, the effects of the recalibration are negated because every school district experienced the same changes.

In theory, only the 2006 8th-grade ELA exam remained comparable to previous years. With the unprecedented increase in scores on this exam in 2007, it should be obvious that even this exam is no longer comparable to previous years.  Yet, there is one aspect in which all the exams are comparable--the performance levels for each exam show how well teachers and students did in meeting existing state standards--as tested, scored and scaled--at the time of the exam.

Incredibly, despite State Ed's insistence that results from 2006 and thereafter should not be compared to earlier years, slide #2 from this year's Commissioner's ELA Press Conference states:

When [the] first 4th grade test was given in 1999, only 48% of students achieved the standards. This year, 68% did.

In 1999, only 48% achieved standards in 8th grade. This year 57% did. 

And slide #6 from this year's Commissioner's Math Press Conference states:

When the first 4th grade test was given in 1999, 67% of students met all the standards. This year, 80% did.

In 1999, 38% of 8th grade students met the standards. This year, 59% did.

Who's making comparisons now?!  Apparently the state doesn't believe it's own non-comparison disclaimers.  Either that or it's willing to ignore them when the comparisons make favorable points.  Last year's comparisons looked bad and the state refused to make any.  It's called deliberate impercipience.

While I'm thinking about it, it takes multiple years of exam results to know whether the current results are a trend or an aberration.

Statewide 4th-grade ELA performance

Statewide 4th-grade math performance

Statewide 8th grade ELA performance

Statewide 8th-grade math performance

In addition to showing S-G's performance on state exams by grade, the table, above, permits a comparison of the performance of cohorts across the years.  Simply follow a class on a diagonal line, as illustrated by the shaded cells in the table--keeping in mind the non-comparison disclaimer of the state (discussed above).

A couple of observations:  First, the percentage of students passing exams generally declines from 3rd grade to 8th.  This is a statewide phenomena.  As Commissioner Mills reportedly said here,  the decline in scores from the early elementary grades to 8th grade is "not inevitable" and "many schools defy the trend."  Unfortunately, S-G is not one of those schools.

Second, the test scores are supposedly scaled to permit comparisons between 1999 and 2005, and between 2006 and thereafter.  However, there's a lot of subjectivity in the process of making exams comparable--and even in the scoring of exams across districts.  To remove some of that subjectivity and improve the interpretation of performance-level changes, it's important to compare the percentage of students scoring in the performance levels above to S-G's mean and top-level state rankings in the first table.  For example, it appears that our 3rd-grade performance on the 2007 ELA exam slightly declined from 2006.  But the state rankings show that relative to other schools, our performance dramatically improved based on the mean and the percentage of our students scoring in the top level.  Whatever contributed to the apparent decline affected other schools more severely than S-G.  Most likely, other schools were not able to move as many students into the top level as S-G did.

On the other hand, our performance on the 6th-grade ELA exam appears to have improved.  But in checking the state rankings, we see that our standing in the state declined.  Whatever contributed to our apparent improvement on the 6th-grade ELA exam, other schools used it to produce greater gains than S-G.  Hence our decline in the state rankings.

Finally, it's important to remember that within small to moderately sized school districts, academic talent varies from one cohort to the next.  (Across the state, academic talent is practically constant from year to year).  This may partially account for variations in rankings and performance levels for the same grade from one year to the next.  That's a major reason why no one should rely on one year's data to determine if improvements or declines are real.  Changes in exam outcomes must be replicated over at least three years and ideally at least indirectly confirmed by national NAEP exams to know how much, if any, of the the change is real.

The following graphic shows the percentage of students passing the ELA and math exams based on the average for each school district in the capital region. To calculate the average, I added the percentage of students passing each exam and divided the total by the number of exams--typically 12. The graph also shows the range of the percentage of students passing all of the exams. In general, the more narrow the range or variation of pass rates within a school district, the better or more consistent the quality of curricula across all grades.  The variation in S-G's passing scores is below average for the area and reduced from last year, which is good.

Niskayuna ranks at the top with an average of 89% of its students passing all the exams. Schenectady and Albany bring up the rear with a pathetic 46% average pass rate. Scotia-Glenville turned in a 78% pass rate, which puts it in the middle and above the region's average 73% pass rate.

4th-GRADE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESULTS

In the above chart, I answer the question, "How has the number of students performing in each level changed over time, assuming the same number of students took the exam each year?"  The number of students performing in each of the levels for 2007 are the actual numbers.  For prior years, the number of students performing in each level reflects the number of students who would have been placed in each level had the same number of students taken the test as in 2007.  I calculate these numbers using the percentages provided by the state for each performance level.  

Interpretation of Performance Levels:

Level 4 – exceeds the standards
Level 3 – meets all the standards
Level 2 – meets some of the standards or partially meets the standards
Level 1 – shows serious academic difficulties.

The above chart shows the percentage of students scoring in each level in each of the 42 NY capital district public schools with elementary schools.  The schools are arranged in order of the percentage of students passing the exam (scoring at Level 3 or 4) from most to least.  Scotia-Glenville is in 6th place--a substantial increase from last year's 26th placing--and its score is outlined in red.  I have repeatedly asserted--to the great dismay of some in the community--that S-G's students are capable of performing better on state tests than they have been.  This year's 4th-grade performance is very close to where I expect the district to routinely perform in all grades--placing near 5th in the region on all exams based on the percentage of students passing.  It's the level our students are capable of mastering.

There's another important point to be made here.  When 4th-grade scores fell last year, we started reading about the 4th-Grade Slump, with all kinds of theories about why 4th graders lose momentum.  But this year, 4th graders performed as expected.  Their scores recovered relative to the scores in 3rd and 5th grades.  Very likely, there is no endemic 4th-grade slump, but educators love to put labels on everything.  They create new terminology and then reify it--treating the thing labeled as if it were real.  More often than not, these terms are excuses, not descriptors of either inevitability or reality.  Anytime you hear or read about new labels created by educators that supposedly account for unwanted conditions, behaviors or results, you should be highly skeptical.  Last year's slumping scores very likely had nothing to do with the 4th-graders and a lot to do with changes in the test or its scoring.

The following graphic shows the grade point average for the capital district, which has been calculated by summing the scores for all pupils and finding the average by awarding 0.55 for Level 1, 1.7 for Level 2, 2.85 for Level 3 and 4.0 for Level 4.  The area GPA is then compared to the area low, the area high and Scotia-Glenville's GPA.  The graph shows that S-G's 4th-graders leaped up from the area's mean, toward which they have been falling since 2000.  Although they aren't as far from the mean and as close to to top as they were in 2000, this score, in my opinion, reflects a level of performance that is very close to their potential.  As noted above, I believe this year's increase is related to changes in pedagogy, so I expect the district to at least maintain this level of academic quality.

8th-GRADE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESULTS

The above graphic shows that performance on the 8th-grade ELA exam made an unprecedented improvement.  It's not only unprecedented on this exam but on every other 3-8 math and English exam the state has ever given!  The odds of this "improvement" being real are extremely slim.  More than likely, as noted above, this exam was the easiest it has ever been--or more "reasonable and fair," if you prefer.  Even so, nearly 3,500 students out of 9,600 didn't meet state standards in 2007.  Previously, the state changed the cut-off and scale scores on this exam, making the exam easier to pass.  See, e.g., NY Makes Huge Scoring Change to 8th Grade ELA Exam.  When factoring in all the changes, it appears that performance on this exam has really remained steady or declined since 2001 despite the appearance of an improvement.

The above chart shows the percentage of students scoring in each level in each of the 41 NY capital district public schools with 8th grades. The schools are arranged in order of the percentage of students passing the exam (scoring at Level 3 or 4) from most to least.  Scotia-Glenville is in 23rd place--two places above last year and one place above two years ago.  Its score is outlined in red. The bottom line here is that our middle school isn't getting the job done.  It hasn't been since the day it opened in 2002 at an $8 million capital cost plus more than $1 million per year in annual operations costs above the cost of our former junior high school.  This was entirely predictable and completely ignored so some former administrators could fulfill a dream from the 1980s.  Normally, when educators make a mistake, it's small because they're such incrementalists by virtue of collaborative teaming.  But this mistake was a doozy and there's no easy fix.  Our performance on this exam ranks 5th out of 7 in the county (including Burnt Hills), with Niskayuna, Duanesburg, Burnt Hills and Schalmont doing better.  Our students have the ability to do much better.

The following graphic shows the grade point average for the capital district on the 8th-grade ELA exam, which is compared to the area low, the area high and Scotia-Glenville's GPA. The graph clearly shows that S-G's results meander around the area's average on the 8th-grade ELA exam, even though its improvement this year was the largest ever.  Any idea that we simply can't be doing better ought to be flatly rejected.

4th-GRADE MATH RESULTS

In the above chart, I answer the question, "How has the number of students performing in each level changed over time, assuming the same number of students took the exam each year?"  The number of students performing in each of the levels is based on the number of students taking the test in 2007.  I calculate these numbers using the percentages provided by the state for each performance level.

Interpretation of Performance Levels:

Level 4 – exceeds the standards
Level 3 – meets all the standards
Level 2 – meets some of the standards or partially meets the standards
Level 1 – shows serious academic difficulties.

The above chart shows the percentage of students scoring in each level in each of the 42 NY capital district public schools with elementary schools.  The schools are arranged in order of the percentage of students passing the exam (scoring at Level 3 or 4) from most to least.  Scotia-Glenville is in 15th place--down one place from last year.  S-G doesn't place nearly as many students in the top level as better performing schools.

The following graphic shows the grade point average for the capital district, which has been calculated by summing the scores for all pupils and finding the average by awarding 0.55 for Level 1, 1.7 for Level 2, 2.85 for Level 3 and 4.0 for Level 4.  The area GPA is then compared to the area low, the area high and Scotia-Glenville's GPA.  The graph shows that S-G is struggling to keep above the area's average performance.  S-G's performance in 2007 was not as good as it was from 1999 to 2001 relative to other area schools.

2006 was the worst performance on a 4th-grade math exam ever. Performance improved this year, but we're still not at the level we need to be in a fast-paced world with increasing global competition.  As an aside, last year I called Prudential and Merrill-Lynch about my mother's accounts.  The Prudential account assistant was in Ireland and the Merrill-Lynch assistant was in Puerto Rico!  What's up with that?  Better math skills and lower labor costs in other areas of the world?

Most of the "improvement" shown in 8th-grade math is very likely due to changes made by the state in things like exam content, cut-off scores and the standards that define proficiency.  One luxury middle school teachers don't have relative to elementary teachers is to drop items from the curriculum and to curtail recess so more instructional time can be devoted to math.  The middle school curriculum is packed with mandates.  The second article in this post suggests that elementary schools may have increased math instruction time by 60%.

The above chart shows the percentage of students scoring in each level in each of the 41 NY capital district public schools with 8th grades. The schools are arranged in order of the percentage of students passing the exam (scoring at Level 3 or 4) from most to least.  Scotia-Glenville is in 19th place--4 places below last year and 7 places below the year before that.  Its score is outlined in red. 

The following graphic shows the grade point average for the capital district on the 8th-grade math exam, which is compared to the area low, the area high and Scotia-Glenville's GPA. The progress that S-G had made in pulling away from the middle has diminished.

3rd, 5th, 6th & 7th Grade ELA & Math Graphics

Percentage Passing All ELA Exams in the Capital District

You'll notice that the percentage of students passing these exams tends to decline as students move from the lower to upper grades.  That's true statewide, with some exceptions.  In S-G's case, the declining pass rate is much larger than the area's average.  Our 7th- and 8th-grade pass rates would be no lower than 77% if our scores declined at the average rate.  Our 6th-grade pass rate would be closer to 82% than the 76% reported.

2007 3rd-Grade ELA School District Rankings

2007 5th-Grade ELA School District Rankings

2007 6th-Grade ELA School District Rankings

2007 7th-Grade ELA School District Rankings

Percentage Passing All Math Exams in the Capital District

Here we see another aberration for S-G.  The percentage of students passing the 7th-grade math test is still too low, though it has recovered somewhat from last year's dramatic decline.

For the past several years, S-G's math performance has been better than our ELA performance relative to the area's average pass rate and especially for the later grades.  This year, S-G's ELA outcomes improved while our math performance declined, relative to other area school districts.  Our math and ELA outcomes are very nearly balanced to one another, at this point.

By the way,  take a look at the scores from the worst performing schools.  I'd like to know why people aren't rioting in the streets in these school districts, namely Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Watervliet, Green Island, Lansingburgh and a few more.  If these schools were charter schools, they'd be shut down permanently.

2007 3rd-Grade Math School District Rankings

2007 5th-Grade Math School District Rankings

2007 6th Grade Math School District Rankings

Area Average Pass Rate on All Exams by Grade

Notice how S-G starts out well above the area average and ends up with near average performance in the 8th grade.  I've repeatedly said that S-G should be doing better than it is and this chart comes the closest to any I've seen of proving it.  Notice, also, that an average of 31% of S-Gs 7th- and 8th-graders are being left behind.  That's atrocious.  The middle school was not just an experiment, but it was a predictably failed experiment.  We spent millions to convert the junior high to a middle school and added another $1 million or more to operations annually and what did we get for it?

Area GPA For All Exams

The next graphic shows the grade point average for the capital district on 3-8th-grade math and ELA exams, which is compared to the area low, the area high and Scotia-Glenville's GPA. The graph shows S-G's GPA made the biggest improvement ever, though still below its 2005 high and closer to the area's average than at its widest gap.  S-G's GPA ranks 16th out of 42 area school districts.  More than anything, the chart proves the system produces the results it's designed to produce and only system change can dramatically improve academic outcomes.  9 years of state testing and this is all we have "gained." It's not worth the billions that have been spent.  Whatever else might be said, this is nowhere near the amount of improvement American students need to be globally competitive.  See here.  We need schools for The 21st Century Student.

2007 Statewide ELA Rank For S-G

In the graphics immediately above and below, I show S-G's statewide rankings on the ELA and math exams, respectively.  I also show the percentile scores for Burnt Hills and Schalmont.  Burnt Hills is interesting because we started out near its percentile ranks and fell below them.  Schalmont is interesting because it started out well below our percentile ranks and in recent years has nearly matched or exceeded them.

2007 Statewide Math Rank For S-G

2007 Statewide Overall Rank For S-G