(This story is first in a series analyzing the Elmont School District's performance on state standardized tests.)

The six schools in the Elmont Union Free School District may not resemble the United Nations building in Manhattan nor do they have any official diplomats working within their halls and classrooms. However, each of the schools in the district has more in common with the United Nations than might appear.

Last summer, New York State Assemblyman Tom Alfano, who often visits the Elmont Schools, which are a part of his district, visited the summer school program at the Stewart Manor School. The assemblyman walked into a classroom and spoke to a class of 30 children in Spanish.

That fall, Assemblyman Alfano met with 400 students from the Clara H. Carlson School. A fourth grade student from Turkey who was learning the English language for the first time was able to say the only English word she knew - "Hello" - to Alfano.

These are stories that are not uncommon in the Elmont Schools considering that, between all the students in the district, 67 languages are spoken. Students arrive from such countries as Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines and even Yemen.

It's no wonder that Superintendent of Schools for the Elmont School District Dr. Maria Palandra thinks of her schools as a sort of United Nations. Educating students from far away countries can be an overwhelming responsibility. But, rather than think of it as a burden, Dr. Palandra thinks of it as a challenge.

Educating students from all over the world is in fact a challenge that is not common to other districts. Just as Elmont is a unique community, it also faces a unique dilemma - teaching many of its students the English language while trying to meet and even exceed New York State standards.

New York State has curriculum standards in place so educators have a barometer with which to measure a student's academic achievements. It is the goal of a district to raise the level in which students are performing academically.

"Students are expected to apply what they have learned and what they have read to write their responses so that the tasks asked of children are no longer simplistic. They are very involved," said Dr. Palandra. "It's comprehending what one reads, applying it and bringing it into another setting so it goes into a deeper level of understanding."

While some feel standardized tests aren't reliable in terms of measuring the true success of an educational institution, they are nonetheless now a fact of life for the education of every student.

For the 1999-2000 school year, 60 percent of fourth grade students in the Elmont School District are either meeting or exceeding state standards in English with the Nassau County average at 77 percent. In fourth grade math, 65 percent of students in Elmont are either meeting or exceeding state standards with the Nassau County average at 84 percent. In fourth grade science, 71 percent scored above the state's designated level in the Elmont Schools.

While on the surface, it may appear that Elmont is falling short of Nassau County averages, the district's test scores do not necessarily reflect the progress the Elmont Schools make in educating their students nor do the tests accurately measure the quality of education taking place in Elmont.

Given the fact that the Elmont Schools are educating students in the English language for the very first time, the district's test scores can be misleading. In addition to the challenge facing the Elmont Schools because of the community's diversity, Elmont customarily has had to deal with financial restraints. Last school year, the Elmont School District had the lower expense per pupil at $6,329 than any other school district in Nassau County. Jericho was the highest at $14,421.

Yet, Elmont Schools have met state standards even with the challenges facing them, even though all students, whether they are from Bangladesh, Honduras or Trinidad and Tobago, are subject to New York State's educational standards. Dr. Palandra points out that those ESL (those in the English as a Second Language program) children who have only been in the country for a year or two years and have scored below the 30th percentile on another appropriate English reading assessment are exempt from taking the New York State Standardized tests. However, those students must take alternate tests. Students taking the alternate tests, no matter how high they score on them, are put into the Level II category, considered to be falling short of meeting state standards.

Students in Level I are considered to have serious academic deficiencies while students in Level II are considered to need extra help to meet the state standards while students in Level III are those who are meeting the standards and those in Level IV are exceeding state standards.

Therefore, a student who doesn't know the English language is categorized as one who is failing to meet state standards in the fourth grade, even though that student, once he or she masters the language, can go on to attend one of the finest colleges in the nation. Yet, when analyzing test scores, the Elmont School District is sort of penalized for educating a student from a foreign country. "If I have ten children who are brilliant and who can score 90 or 100 percent on an alternative, I can only count those children as a Level II," Dr. Palandra said.

Assemblyman Alfano's chief of staff Scott Cushing says those children are given a glass ceiling that they cannot break through. "How many school districts on Long Island would meet those qualifications and standards?" Cushing asked before answering his own question. "There's only one and it's Elmont."

Although the Elmont Schools may face great challenges in educating students from all parts of the world, it is a challenge Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maria Palandra relishes and one that she is familiar with.

Dr. Palandra came to the United States from Italy and struggled with the English language. Yet, she not only adapted, but she earned a multitude of degrees, including a Ph.D.

Dr. Palandra knows full well that a child who can be educated with patience to learn the English language can achieve scholastic excellence. It is a child's potential once they comprehend the English language that a standardized test doesn't measure.

(Next week's addition will break down Elmont achievement on the state English Language Arts 4th grade test and 4th grade state mathematics test for the 1999-2000 school year.)