Principal asks: ‘With these results, why are we not celebrating?'

Warwick Valley students get high marks on annual state report card By Terry McGahan Warwick — Warwick Valley District school officials reviewed their most recent report card scores from the state this week and were impressed by their results. But is anyone taking notice? The community room in the Dorothy C. Wilson Education Center was packed, but only with empty chairs. The principals of the district’s four elementary schools, middle school and high school read their reports of scores achieved last year and each described the excellent outcomes and the advances that have been made from the previous years. Comparison with prior years’ figures was discouraged at the meeting due to new standards of testing and an introduction to testing for many young students. That point having been made, the head teachers from each of the four elementary schools saw consistent improvements in the numbers of their pupils who achieved a passing grade. Testing gauges whether students meet the learning standard and do so by grading their results from one to four. School scores are established by studying the number of students who scored a three (Meeting Learning Standards) or a four (Meeting Learning Standards with Distinction). • Sandforville Elementary school produced excellent grades with 92 percent of its third graders scoring three or four in the English Language Arts test and 98 percent of the same grade also scoring a three or a four in mathematics. The fourth and fifth graders scored from 85 percent to 89 percent in the same subject. • At Kings Elementary school, the third, fourth and fifth graders scored best in math while still maintaining high scores in English and science. • The fourth graders at Park Avenue Elementary also hit high marks, with 91 percent scoring three or four in English, 95 percent in math and 99 percent in science. • The pick of the young students, however, goes to Pine Island School fourth graders. They scored 100 percent in math, 100 percent in science and a near perfect 97 percent in English in either the third or fourth level. “We are pleased with the direction we are going in,” said Superintendent of schools Dr. Frank Greenhall. Looking out into an empty audience, Greenhall also said, “Maybe we need to break up these presentations and had one board meeting with two elementary schools presenting at a time then the middle and high school.” Kings Elementary Principal Sandra Wood asked: “With these results, why are we not celebrating?” All schools are compared by the state to similar schools. Similar schools are identified by taking factors such as the poverty level of students, as indicated by the number of students who receive free school lunches, and the resources available to the school. The middle school is compared to a long list of educational institutes in the state which includes other nearby schools such as C.J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen and Greenwood Lake Middle School. When reviewing these comparisons Warwick Valley Middle School scores better. In the English Arts section the local middle school saw 83 percent of its students score in the third or fourth level while the average scores from the similar schools was only 65 percent. The high school also showed a strong performance in comprehensive English, Mathematics A, history, geography, and science classes. In particular the U.S. history and government regents exams saw 72 percent of students score 85 or better. Only Mathematics B gave concern with only 23 percent scoring at the 85 or better level. Statistics from the end of the 2006 year showed that 66 percent of graduates went on to a four-year college and a further 17 percent to a two-year college. The full report card as given by the state can be read online at www.nystart.gov/nystart/u/index.do.