BCS Makes Progress In Meeting State Standards

by David Flint
At the School Board meeting on May 20, Berlin Central Teaching staff and administrators reported some progress in meeting goals and State standards in English Language Arts (ELA). A team led by Stephentown Elementary Principal Eileen Leffler and Math Coordinator Lauren Nichols presented the results of the 2009 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts assessments recently released by the State Education Department (SED) along with an update on in-house testing in math.
The goal this year was to raise the performance of District students meeting the State ELA standards by ten percentage points. With one exception, this goal was accomplished. Performance in third grade increased by 13 percentage points, that is, the percentage of students scoring at level 3 (Meets the learning standards) or level 4 (Exceeds the standards) increased from 63% last year to 76% this year. Performance at fourth grade dropped by 1.9 percentage points (70.6% to 68.7%) but in fifth grade there was an increase of 10 percentage points from 72% to 82%, an increase just shy of 10 points in sixth grade to 74%, a gain of 11 points in seventh grade (66% to 77%) and a remarkable increase of 34 points – from 28% to 62% – in eighth grade.
According to data posted on SED’s website, Berlin’s performance this year is close to both county-wide and state-wide results for grades 3 and 5. Grade 4 is slightly below the county and state. Grade 6 is 7 percentage points below the state and 11 points below the county. Grade 7 is 8 points above the state but ten points below the county. Grade 8 is 9 points below the county and 14 points below the state.
Berlin’s goal for math this year was also to increase by ten percentage points student performance on the State elementary and middle school tests. Those results are expected to be available early next month. Nichols said in-house testing in kindergarten and first grade showed that 83% in both grades were meeting mid-year grade level expectations. Testing in higher grades showed 96% of fifth-graders at grade level but there was a dip in performance by fourth-graders which Nichols called worrisome. Performance falls off considerably in sixth grade and again in ninth grade.
Berlin’s performance on last year’s State math tests showed considerable improvement over the previous year with significant increases in proficiency in all grades except grade 5 where there was a slight drop and in grade 8 where there was only a slight decrease but proficiency remained below 30%.
Nichols noted that much more emphasis is being put on math. Students in k-5 now have 90 minutes a day of math versus about 30 minutes some years back. Other efforts to improve math proficiency include cooperative teaching between grade levels, project based learning, integration of technology, benchmarks and quarterly assessments, more intensive interventions, revisions and refinements to the curriculum and a partnership with RPI.
Board Member Tom Morelli wanted to know what strategies were in place to raise the performance of students from level 3 to level 4 and from level 4 to level 4 plus. Nichols said that  teaching strategies would not be necessarily different than for students at level 1. Teachers use the testing data to determine where individual students are and where, accordingly, expectations need to be raised. The frequency and intensity of the intervention would of course vary depending on the level of the student.
Board Member Don French suggested that the math program in the elementary grades might not be rigorous enough given the falloff in sixth grade. Nichols disagreed saying the elementary math program was very rigorous.
Morelli, pointing to in-house test results at sixth grade, asked whether report cards sent home reflect the indication that 40% of the students might be failing. Nichols said that the Glencoe test showing those results is a very challenging one and is used because the staff wanted a very challenging assessment. She said she was anxious to see how the in-house testing matched the soon to be released State tests. Right now, she said, students were undergoing intensive practice for the Regents exams. Teachers are giving that extra push based on weaknesses they have observed through the past year. She added that the Regents exams and other State tests are minimum expectations. “We aim to reach beyond the New York State standards,” she said.
Middle School Officially
The Board held up an action item to register grades 6-8 officially with the State as the Berlin Central Middle School. Although those grades have been actually functioning as a middle school for about 20 years now and a separate principal was appointed in 2007, the school officially is known by SED as part of the Berlin Central Junior-Senior High School. The administration would like to have it registered separately as a middle school so that data from the State and indicators such as Annual Yearly Progress are provided separately and under its proper name.
However, Don French expressed concern that registration as a middle school might lock the District into always having a separate principal for these grades. The District’s counsel, Beth Bourassa from the Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna law firm, responded that there are many cases where one principal runs both the middle school and the high school so long as both are essentially housed in one building, and she did not know of any instance where this arrangement has been challenged. Beverly Stewart and Tom Morelli wanted, however, to be assured that there are no other State mandates that might come along with the official registration. Bourassa said she would research the issue and provide an answer prior to the Board’s next workshop meeting on June 2. This would enable the District to make the June 15 deadline for registration so as to have the change in place for the upcoming school year.
The Board set their next regular meeting for Tuesday, June 16, at 7 pm at the High School in Cherry Plain.