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Test scores reveal Greene students outshined Columbia students

By Tom Wanamaker

ALBANY — State test scores for elementary and middle school students, while generally up across New York as a whole, were a mixed bag locally.

On Monday, state Education Department officials released the third annual round of test results for students in grades 3 through 8 on state-mandated tests in mathematics and English Language Arts.

Locally, Greene County students outperformed their Columbia counterparts across the Hudson River. In Greene County, 82.54 percent of 3,289 students taking the math test either “met” or “exceeded” learning standards, while 67.20 of 3,288 students tested did the same in the English test.

In Columbia County, 75.28 percent of 3,724 students tested topped or beat the math standards, as did 66 percent of the 3,707 students who took the English test.

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. Greene County’s students topped the state averages in both subjects while Columbia County’s students did not.

In average mean scores, Greene County’s students beat Columbia's in the mathematics test, 673.42 to 669.92, respectively. In English, the two counties came in virtually identical, with an average mean of 660.48 for Greene and 660.44 for Columbia.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said that 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 onto their achievement gain and hold onto it — this is good,” he said. “That's what people are paying for.”

Mills 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,” 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 at: www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/press-release/20080623/home.htm.

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