Test scores released by the New York State Education Department earlier this month show that while the Hicksville School District is on a par with other Long Island districts, it still needs to improve in preparing elementary students for more demanding high school standards.

The tests, given in eighth-grade math, eighth-grade English Language Arts, and fourth-grade math, are part of a statewide program to assess the performance of the students' progression in meeting more stringent regents requirements later in their academic careers.

The scores from the state exam were categorized into four achievement levels. Level 4 includes all scores that exceed the state's standards. Level 3 are those students who meet the state's standards. Level 2 identifies those who meet some but not all of the state's standards. Level 1 illustrates minimal achievement and no evidence of proficiency in one or more of the standards.

Fifty-two percent of Hicksville eighth-grade students who took the math exam met or exceeded the state's standards. That is four percent better than the Long Island average and 14 percent better than the state-wide average. Despite this encouraging statistic, it still showed 48 percent of the 328 Hicksville students who took the test failed to meet all of the state's standards, and 13 percent were categorized in the lowest level.

Dr. Edward Finn, the superintendent of the Hicksville School District, spoke of the results in his superintendent's report during a school board meeting earlier this week. In an interview he stated that if the state exam is representative of what the students should know at this point, the district will need to better identify and address those standards and how they are taught to the students. To do this, however, the state will have to provide additional information about the tests. He further stated that the NYSED had sent a press release explaining there was a big shift in the eighth-grade math scores, and that the test is correct in identifying the need for curriculum changes throughout the state.

"The state is saying that it [eighth-grade math exam] is a good assessment of the standards, so we need to see some more technical information from that testing program, more item analysis statewide, to see just what it is we are missing," said Finn. "We are also doing work internally to match our curriculum against the standards."

Finn reiterated his concern over the accuracy of the math exam, noting the startling fact that approximately 70 percent of the districts in the state have ten percent or more at Level I, and the large difference in scores between the 4th grade math test and the eighth-grade test. The Hicksville School District had 83 percent meet or exceed the 4th grade math standards. The state met this criteria with a 67 percent average, and the Long Island average was 82 percent.

"At first you worry if it is something with Hicksville, were we doing something out of whack, but then you see everyone experiencing the same kind of thing," said Finn.

The eighth-grade English results showed that 61 percent of the 325 Hicksville students taking the test met or exceeded the state's standards, as opposed to a 58 percent average on Long Island and a 48 percent average state-wide. Thirty-six percent of the Hicksville scores from this test fell in Level 2, and only four percent were categorized in Level 1.

In the fourth-grade English exam, which was administered in January, 1999, 70 percent of Hicksville students met or exceeded the state's standards. Twenty-nine percent were categorized in Level 2 and only one percent were in Level 1.

Overall Finn feels the district is making a good transition to the standards. "Clearly it [results] shows a lot of progress . . . and I think that the students are working hard, the parents and staff are working hard, and the community has put a lot of support into programs to enable this transition to take place, such as curriculum revision, text books, and technology in the district."

He continued, "We have done a tremendous amount of work to do, and we have gotten very good resullts. All educators are looking for more extraordinary results. So we are never satisfied, but I am very pleased with all the work everyone in this district has done."

A listing of all the districts in the state and a more comprehensive explanation of the different levels for each test can be viewed at the New York State Education Department's web site, www.nysed.gov.

Listed below are the results of the state tests administered to fourth-grade and eighth-grade students in June, 1999. The scores were categorized into four levels. Level 4 illustrates the percentage of students who exceeded the state's standards. Level 3 shows the percentage of students that met all the state's standards. Level 2 indicates the percentage of students with partial achievement of the standards. Level 1 shows the percentage with minimal achievement of the standards.

* Source: New York State Education Department