At a regular board of education meeting held last Wednesday, the Farmingdale Board of Education reviewed the New York State report cards for the 2001-2002 school year (the state issues results one year after the tests are taken). Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Dr. Robert Schultz gave a special presentation at the meeting, making clear that high achievement on state assessments is just one incidental benefit of effective instruction, while the primary benefits are continuous student growth and learning.

"This is really just one snapshot of what goes on here in our district with our students," he said, adding that other "snapshots" include the art show held earlier in the evening, recognition ceremonies for honor society students, student athletes, musicians, as well as students who are involved in many other activities.

Dr. Schultz explained that the New York assessments focus on ELA (English Language Arts), math and science for grades four and eight. He noted that there are four tiers of performance: Level 1 being below the state standards and showing serious academic deficiencies; Level 2 showing that students are in need of extra help to meet the state standards; Level 3 is meeting state standards and Level 4 is exceeding state standards.

The assistant superintendent noted that in 2002, Farmingdale was exceeding state levels by 13 points and was just behind the county (by 8 points) in ELA 4. He further noted that in 1999, Farmingdale was at 58 percent and has been inching up on the county ever since, always exceeding the state. The majority of Farmingdale students were in level three for ELA 4, with 55 percent in 2000-2001 and 47 percent in 2001-2002. He went on to say that the decrease from one year to another is of concern and is being investigated by the department, so see what can be done to raise that figure. In Math 4, Farmingdale has also been exceeding the state for the past few years by at least 10 points and was just three points behind the county last year. Again, the majority of results landed in Level 3 and Level 4. For Science 4, Farmingdale was almost 20 points ahead of the state in 2002 and neck-in-neck with the county at 90 percent.

In ELA 8, Farmingdale students are again exceeding state standards and inching up on the county as far as which level their scores fell in, and they are primarily in Level 3. In Math 8, 56 percent of Farmingdale students were in Levels 3 and 4 in 2001 and 70 percent in 2002. These numbers exceeded the state in both years and exceeded the county by seven points in 2002. Dr. Schultz further noted that compared to 2001, when 43 percent of Farmingdale students were in Level 3, 57 percent were in Level 3 in 2002. The amount of students who fell into Levels 1 and 2 also decreased. As for Science 8, 54 percent of students were in Level 3 (the state average was 45) in 2002 and 37 percent were in Level 4 (with the state average being 31).

Moving onto the high school, Dr. Schultz explained that the 1997 cohort, or those who were ninth-graders in 1997 and were the class of 2001, had 82 percent of students in Levels 3 and 4 in the high school English achievement. Those who were ninth-graders in 1998, or the class of 2002, had 89 percent in Levels 3 and 4 in the high school English achievement, exceeding the state. In math, the class of 2001 and 2002 each had 94 percent of students in Levels 3 and 4, both far exceeding the state.

Dr. Schultz also presented the graduation rates for the 1998 cohort, which had a total of 96 percent of students graduating. The assistant superintendent also presented the System Accountability for Student Success, which provides a standard as to where the state believes Farmingdale's performance should be in ELA and math, or a "benchmark." The benchmark for the 2001-2002 school year was at 145, and all of Farmingdale's schools far exceeded that number, with figures as high as 196.

Results of the tests taken for the 2002-2003 school year were also presented. In ELA 4, 27 percent of students fell into Level 4 in 2002 and 34 percent in 2003. In most cases, performance levels at all the district's schools for the 2003 school year either matched or exceeded the numbers in 2002.

Dr. Schultz also showed a longitudinal comparison of ELA 8 test scores in 1999 to Regents scores in 2002, showing that the ELA average in Farmingdale was 65.1 percent and the Regents average was 96. 4 percent. Comparing ELA 8 in 2000 and the Regents in 2003, the average in 2000 was 62.6 percent and 95.8 in 2003. The unofficial results (the district received some numbers, but not official results from the state) for Math 4 in 2002 and 2003 showed that in both years, students were primarily in Levels 3 and 4, with 85 and 94 percent, respectively. In Math 8, 70 percent of students were in Levels 3 and 4 in 2002 and 79 percent in 2003.

"The results are evident that education is a process. Our staff is working hard on evaluating our programs and you can see that clearly from these results," said trustee Robert Guarino.

Dr. Schultz noted that these test results show that many Farmingdale programs are helping students be well-prepared for these tests. While he stressed that the district does not "teach to the test," students are given tests similar to those of the state's.

"Prior to taking the [state tests], students are given tests parallel to the state tests so that they can familiarize themselves with the wording, format, etc," he said.

He further recognized the efforts of the science specialists and language consultants who help teachers and students in the classroom, and recognized after school clubs and other programs that benefit the students. He did admit, however, that there are some areas in which work remains to be done.

"There are some places we still have work to do, but I think overall our program is moving the way we'd like it to go," he said. "No matter how good we are today, we need to become even better tomorrow."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roberta Gerold agreed with that statement, noting that the children of Farmingdale are developing "wonderfully," and reiterated that the test results are not the most important thing.

"We are certainly on the right path," she said. "There is a value to the state assessment but it's an incidental benefit. The real benefit is student growth...we see the whole child. The most important thing is a child who comes back to this community and wants to bring his or her family here."