The East Greenbush Central School District improved proficiency rates by 11% in English Language Arts and 3% in Math on this year’s New York State Grades 3-8 tests, according to state data released Friday. Overall, the District scored significantly higher than the state average for both tests – approximately 22 percentage points higher on ELA and 24 percentage points higher on math.
“The increased number of students becoming proficient in ELA and math is a credit to our teachers and administrators, the support of our families, and most importantly, the hard work of our students,” said Superintendent Jeff Simons.
This is the fourth year that the grades 3-8 state tests are aligned to the more rigorous Common Core Learning Standards. The tests are graded on a 1 to 4 scale (levels 3 and 4 are considered proficient).
Two years ago, East Greenbush started district-wide grade level meetings so teachers from different buildings could collaborate and develop a more consistent curriculum. They also created a mid-year local assessment for students in grades K-5 based on released questions from the 2015 state tests. This allowed teachers to identify performance strengths and deficits and tailor instruction to meet student needs.
“We have tried to take a proactive approach in supporting our students and teachers with these assessments,” said Dr. Lynne Pampel, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, “and we will continue to monitor student progress.”
This spring’s state tests were slightly modified from the prior year with fewer test questions and unlimited time for students who were productively working. The NYS Education Department, which is currently reviewing the Common Core standards on which the annual state tests are based, released 75% of this spring’s test questions in June.
East Greenbush ranked 8th out of 84 Capital Region school districts in the Albany Business Review’s 2016 Schools Report. Those rankings are based on a number of factors including student achievement on state tests.
State Test Proficiency Rates
| Year | District ELA | District Math | NYS ELA | NYS Math |
| 2016 | 59% | 63% | 37% | 39% |
| 2015 | 48% | 60% | 31% | 38% |
| 2014 | 46% | 55% | 31% | 36% |
| 2013 | 44% | 50% | 31% | 31% |