PUBLISHED BY MOSHOLU PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Test Scores Markedly Improve at
Several Schools

By HEATHER HADDON

The fourth graders at seven local schools made striking improvements in their 
standardized test scores over the last few years, according to the state Department of Education (DOE). The DOE recently issued a report documenting all New York State schools that had a 20 percent gain in their English and math test scores for fourth and eighth graders. 

The area schools that significantly improved their fourth grade math scores, out of the 51 total in the Bronx, were PS 8, 33, 51, 56, 94 and PS/MS 20. 

English results were not as successful. Out of 20 Bronx schools total, PS/MS 95 was the only local school to up its fourth grade English scores by at least 20 percent.

No Bronx schools made such gains in their eighth grade scores.

Without a doubt, PS 33 on Fordham Road was the biggest winner in fourth grade math achievements. The school led the district with a performance gain of over 40 percent. Almost 90 percent of the school's 1,028 students passed the math exam in 2003, up from roughly 50 percent in 1999. 

PS 33 Principal Elba Lopez, who was in the midst of showcasing student math projects last week, was thrilled with the news. "We put a lot of effort and offer a lot of hands-on activities to improve their math," said Lopez. 

In the school's math program, teachers conduct frequent testing and offer additional tutoring to students who receive failing marks. Those with Level 2 grades go into small group instruction until they receive a 3 (Levels 3 and 4 are passing, Levels 1 and 2 are failing). The students who score in Level 1 are assigned to special instructional groups.

"We put the best teachers with them," said Lopez. The groups meet before school begins, from 7 to 8 a.m., after-school and on the weekends. Teachers who come early to instruct are given stipends.

Lopez's teachers also supplement the citywide math curriculum, called "Everyday Math," with three other texts to give the students extra practice. And at the end of the year, the school hosts a party for the students who pass the state exams.

Carol Carlsen, principal at PS/MS 20 on Webster Avenue, whose fourth graders showed a 33 percent increase in math scores, credits the school's dedicated math center to the improvements.

Set up about four years ago to provide professional development, the center offers "additional materials in math for the teachers to do extensive planning," Carlsen said. She notes that she has discussed the math center concept with other schools in the region.

But reading scores throughout the Bronx proved to be more resistant to change. While PS/MS 95's fourth grade scores improved by an admirable 30 percent, still only half of the students passed the state exams last year. 

Lopez thinks reading is a tougher subject for kids to grasp. "Reading is more tedious and more demanding," she said. 

Carlsen feels that the literacy test has gotten more challenging, since it requires students to evaluate more non-fiction stories using social studies and science concepts. She also thinks that the Bronx's large number of immigrant students, many of whom are just learning English, have a hard time mastering the test.

The eighth graders still seem to have the toughest time of all --  a trend some school administrators attribute to the more difficult middle school environment. "In an elementary setting, you have significant stability," Carlsen said. But PS/MS 20 struggles with the constant flux of middle school students and teachers, larger classrooms, and what Carlsen feels is a more difficult test. 

For the past four years, "students are seeing concepts in the tests that they may not have originally been taught ... like higher-level algebra," she said. PS/MS 20 has been working on introducing some of those lessons, which were previously taught in high school, beginning in the sixth grade.

Back to Schools Index Page