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ALBANY, N.Y. (May 7, 2009)
-- City School District of Albany elementary and middle school students
continued raising their level of success on the state English language
arts exam this year with the most significant achievement gains ever.
All of the district’s elementary and middle schools exceeded New York
State Education Department ELA benchmarks for students in grades 3-8.
Overall, 61 percent of the district’s students in grades 3-8 achieved
proficiency this year, attaining Level 3 or Level 4. That’s a 24 percent
gain over 2008, when 49 percent of the district’s students achieved the
top two levels in ELA.
The district-wide results last year represented a 14 percent gain over
2007.
“Our students’ strong success rate this year
in English language arts is continued evidence of the dedication and
commitment our students, teachers, staff and families make each and
every day,” said Superintendent Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D.
“We are proud of the efforts everyone in our
school community is making to help us achieve our goals, and we know
there remains work to be done until all of our students are poised to
achieve this level of success.”
A range of programs and services in which
the district and community have invested in recent years are
contributing to the growing success rate, Dr. Joseph said.
These include:
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Strong early childhood programs,
including full-day prekindergarten and kindergarten in all 12
elementary schools.
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The district’s Reading Recovery program
for first-grade students.
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Strong, consistent professional
development programs for teachers, including partnerships with the
National Urban Alliance for Effective Education and Columbia
University Teachers College, as well as the addition of literacy
coaches at the elementary and middle school levels.
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A focused effort on data-driven
instruction and student assessment.
Gains in the performance index (a 200-point
scale) for individual elementary schools compared to 2008 ranged as high
as 26 points at Giffen Memorial Elementary School and 24 points at Arbor
Hill Elementary School.
Nine of the district’s 12 elementary schools
achieved double-digit gains in their performance index this year.
At the middle school level, Stephen and
Harriet Myers Middle School and William S. Hackett Middle School both
gained 21 points, while Philip Livingston Magnet Academy gained 16
points.
By grade level, the largest gains were in
grades 4, 6 and 8.
In grade 4, 31 percent more students scored
Level 3 or Level 4 than in 2008 (67 percent compared to 51 percent). In
grade 6, the increase was 26 percent (62 percent compared to 46
percent).
District-wide, at least 60 percent of
students at all grade levels scored Level 3 or Level 4 except grade 8.
However, at that grade level, 40 percent achieved Level 3 or Level 4
compared to 28 percent in 2008. That is a 43 percent increase.
Along with the overall gains at each grade
level, the 2009 ELA results also showed strong improvement among
students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. All
schools exceeded their state performance targets in those subgroups.
The City School
District of Albany serves approximately 8,300 students in 18
elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood
schools, the district includes several
magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic
opportunities for students. The
district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities
project to newly
build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary
and middle
schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is
to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students
succeed in the 21st century.
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