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GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The state education department released the results of the math and English Language Arts tests that students in grades three to eight took in May 2011. The data shows that Greenburgh scored below the state’s and Westchester County’s averages for the percentage of students that achieved proficiency.
On the English Language Arts (ELA) test 50.6 percent of students achieved proficiency or better, slightly less than the state's 52.8 percent but far below the 64 percent countywide average for proficiency or better. A similar proportion was observed in the math test: the percentage of Greenburgh students who reached proficiency or better was 60.8, against 63.3 of the state and 70.1 of the county.
Parents and teachers, however, said that comparing Greenburgh’s results to the county’s is misleading.
“You are not comparing the same student bodies,” said Shelly Packer, president of Greenburgh Teacher’s Federation.
Sven Hoeger, whose son is a junior in Woodlands High School, also thinks that test scores are more a consequence of social and economic factors than teaching quality.
“It’s very obvious that districts with high proportion of minorities happen to perform lower,” he said. Such disparity reflects the “achievement gap” in the county. Statewide only 35 percent of African American and 37.2 percent of Hispanic students met or exceeded proficiency standards, according to the state education department.
Hoeger said that lower test scores don’t mean students are less smart. He mentioned his own daughter and son as examples. Both graduated in Greenburgh and are now in renowned colleges, respectively Harvey Mudd and Dartmouth.
“They only got that because of the grades they had here,” Hoeger said.
Greenburgh Central School District superintendent Ronald Smalls is on vacation and could not be reached. Terry Williams, the Board of Education’s president, didn’t want to comment on the tests scores before speaking to him.
What do you think of the test scores achieved by Greenburgh students? You can join the discussion in Facebook.
Comments (6)
Has anyone conducted a study to see why the scores are so low? Standards are made so that all students have the same information and are on a level playing ground in terms of competition. If a student requires a different teaching method to learn, then they, too, will learn, if taught using that method.
The comment, “It’s very obvious that districts with high proportion of minorities happen to perform lower,” is disheartening and unacceptable (although they may be true), especially when compared to taxes and cost per student being paid by different school districts.
Whether a child chooses to go to Harvard or not, is not the point. It's easy to document the successes, but I'm more concerned about the majority of students and where they fall in this. I hope the district will not become defensive and will strongly address the teaching strategies and implement improvements needed to help our students achieve more positive test results.
Sistermill,
Thanks very much for your comment. We will keep your observations in mind in our future stories about Greenburgh schools, in particular the need to look at the entire student population.
Like this article and Mr Hoeger state, the overall score is not to be viewed or analyzed on its own. Many other factors play into this number.
We have seen great results out of Greenburgh schools. My daughter went through this system and was accepted into all the IV league schools. she is now at Harvard and I am very proud to say that she is a product of Greenburgh schools. She is quite a lady and the teachers in this district did a fine job. I support this district and would not consider any other for the education of my children.
P Nyambi
ambangt,
Thanks very much for giving us a second example of a Greenburgh student accepted at top universities. It's a valuable contribution to the article.
Who cares if Greenburgh is slightly below the state average? 49% of any population is below the average!
Thanks for you comment, BobG, but what you said is not totally correct.
Just imagine a population of 10 students where nine of them scored 11 and only one scored 1 (just to make the numbers friendly). In this case, the average would be (9*11+1)/10=(99+1)/10=10. So, the student who scored 1 would be the only one below the average (10 percent of the population).
That being said, you are right to say that falling below the average might be irrelevant, depending on the distribution of the population.