The second major agenda item at the March 25 Island Trees School Board meeting was the presentation of the New York State Report Cards for each of the schools in the district.

Dr. Peter Egan presented the report with the help of many charts and graphs that illustrated the schools' development over a three year period in many cases and in other cases compared the school with other schools in the district, similar schools, and all public schools. Similar schools are defined by the state as teaching comparable grade levels, being part of districts with similar local wealth and similar poverty levels, and having similar proportion of pupils who are eligible for free lunches and/or have limited proficiency in English. This is the best comparison for schools, but the district is concerned because they are grouped in with schools such as Great Neck and Roslyn, who have much greater wealth that can be used for the schools.

According to the State Education Department, "The New York State School Report Card is an important part of the Regents effort to raise the academic performance of all pupils. It enables the school community to review key information about academic performance in the school and serves as a foundation for school improvement." The report includes results for established state tests in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. It also includes the results of state tests in languages other than English and in occupational education, in secondary school reports.

The attendance rate in the school district has remained consistently high over the past three years and the suspension rate has consistently dropped over the years. The dropout rate for the district went up a half a percent from 1995 to 1996. The suspension rate is much lower than in similar schools but the dropout rate is a little bit higher in Island Trees. The attendance rate of Island Trees is slightly higher than in similar schools.

Island Trees fared very well with students in third grade reading above the state minimum level. Ninety-nine percent of students in Stokes were reading above the minimum standards, and 100 percent in Sparke. These numbers are consistent with those in similar schools and well above all public schools. Sixty-six percent of students at Stokes and 62 percent of students at Sparke were reading with distinction, which means that third graders were reading books such as Black Beauty. This is about 3-7 percent higher than the number of students reading with distinction in similar schools. One hundred percent of students in grade three mathematics in Island Trees scored above the state minimum level. The district was also higher than similar schools in the grade four science tests.

Island Trees Middle School dropped 1 percent this year in the percentage of students above the State minimum in writing, but still remain at a strong 99 percent, which is equal with similar schools. In reading the middle school students are equal to last year's scores above the minimum, but about 2 percent lower than similar schools. Over 74 percent of these students are reading with distinction though, which is almost 5 percent higher than similar schools standings. With distinction means that sixth graders can read The New York Times and Moby Dick and understand the text. Sixth graders are also faring better than similar schools in social studies. Eighth graders are faring better than similar schools in average scores in two out of three sections of social studies. They are less than 1 percent lower than similar schools in the essay section of the tests, but are higher than all public schools in all the sections.

Island Trees students have fallen below similar schools and all public schools in passing Sequential Math 1, in both passing and passing with distinction. In 1997, 80 percent of students at the high school passed the Regents Comprehensive exam in English. This is 10 percent higher than last year and 1 percent higher than similar schools. The district did not fare as well as similar schools in languages other than English. They were about 14 percent lower than similar schools on this level. The number of students passing the RCE in Sequential Math III is slightly above those in similar schools, but lower in the number of students passing with distinction. In biology, Island Trees about 7 percent more students passed the RCE than similar schools, but in chemistry 17 percent fewer students passed the RCE than students in similar schools. Fewer percentage of Island Trees students passed the RCE in global studies than students in similar schools but a higher percentage passed in US history and government.

Eighty-five percent of 11th graders in Island Trees passed the Regents in reading and writing and 81 percent passed in math. Fifteen percent passed the RCT in reading, 13 percent passed the RCT in writing, and almost 20 percent passed the RCT in math.

In Island Trees, 46 percent of the class of 1996 went to four year colleges and 45 percent went to two year colleges. In similar schools, 66 percent went to four year colleges and 24 percent went to two year colleges. In 1997, 60 percent of Island Trees students received Regents diplomas, which is much higher than the previous year and slightly higher than similar schools.

As a whole, the Island Trees School District fared well against similar schools and very well against all public schools. Superintendent Richard Segerdahl said that the district was "overall, very pleased with the report and pleased that we are getting more and more youngsters into the mastery level, which means they are getting 85 or above." As far as weaknesses go he says, "we have to work on our weakest area, which we have identified as chemistry, the results on the chemistry Regents, so we have to, and have already been working on offering extra help to kids and trying to get more children into chemistry." This is a concern for the district because the scores have not improved significantly in this area for the past three years. He says that all the scores in other subjects were solid but that the district has to be willing to recognize the weaknesses. He says that this is a benefit of these reports, because they not only show where the district is doing well but what areas need work. According to Segerdahl, "It is only when you recognize your weaknesses that you can improve on them." With this in mind, the Island Trees School District will continue to work on the areas of weakness that they have identified through this report.