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ALBANY, NY (September 2004)
The
Business Council of New York State published a new "School Honor Roll"
listing 226 elementary schools and 16 middle schools across New York
State that improved the most on the state's standardized tests between
1999 and 2003. Arbor Hill was one of the schools that improved on these
tests.
Schools that
improved their average scores by at least 20 percent in both Math and
English Language Arts (ELA) tests on both the fourth and eighth grades
made the honor roll.
"As students
and teachers return to school this month, they must remember that better
learning and teaching are doable, and this School Honor Roll proves it,"
said the Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh. "New York's most
improved schools are in all parts of the state, come from communities
with widely varying levels of wealth, and show widely varying levels of
spending per pupil."
To produce
the honor roll, The Public Policy Institute, the research affiliate of
The Business Council, analyzed data from the state Education Department
(SED) on the performance of all schools in state on fourth-grade and
eight-grade tests in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics in
1999 and again in 2003.
On those
test, students' results are rated at four levels of proficiency, with 4
denoting the highest level of achievement. A rating of 3 is considered
meeting the state's standards; a grade of 4 is considered exceeding
them.
To
make The Council's School Honor Roll, both elementary and middle schools
had to show at least a 20 percent improvement in the percentage of
students who scored at level 3 or 4 on both the ELA and Math tests
between 199 and 2003.
Of the elementary schools
on the School Honor Roll:
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39
are considered high-need urban suburban schools.
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15
are considered high-need rural schools.
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27
are large-city schools outside of New York City.
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98
are in New York City.
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43
are considered average-need schools.
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Four
are considered low-need schools.
The Business Council each
year uses these same test-results data to award the Pathfinder Award.
The Council gives this award each year to about two dozen schools in 12
regions around the state. Winners are those schools that show the most
improvement from one year to the next on students' standardized test
scores. Arbor Hill Elementary School was also a previous winner of the
2003 Pathfinder Award. The new School Honor continues The Council's
tradition of applauding schools that best meet the challenge to improve,
Walsh said.
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The City School
District of Albany serves almost 9,400 students in 19
elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several
magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic
opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. 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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