Merrick-Bellmore test scores beat averages

In the four Bellmore-Merrick elementary districts, every grade from third to sixth surpassed the average county and state scores on the English Language Arts and math state exams, the results of which were released by the New York State Department of Education last week.

School superintendents expressed satisfaction with the results, but also cautioned that their districts will need to continue to work hard to prepare students for future statewide exams, which since 2010 have included longer, more difficult problems.

Students earn one of four grades on the tests. A score of 3 or 4 is considered passing, while students who score 1 or 2 must receive academic intervention services.

The Herald spoke with local superintendents this week to get their reactions to their students’ scores.

Merrick

“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Dr. Dominick Palma, the new superintendent of the Merrick School District, who took over on July 1. “Our scores are well above county averages and certainly above state averages.”

Palma said he was well aware of some of the concerns about assessment scores in previous years. One of those concerns, he said, was last year’s third-grade results. In 2010-11, third-graders barely beat the Nassau County average on the ELA exam, and fell below the county average in math.

This year, both third- and fourth-grade scores were above the county averages. “We’re very pleased that the grades are up there,” Palma said, “[and] that the particular interventions [teachers] did with the students who had some problems last year really seemed to have paid off.

“The fact that this third grade was up says that it wasn’t a third-grade classroom problem,” he added.

Palma said that the district incorporates a blend of services for students who require academic intervention.

And in addition to the state assessments, he explained, the district uses another test, the Measures of Academic Performance, to gauge students’ knowledge. It was given this year in grades three through six, and Palma said that the district is considering using the test for all grades next year.

North Merrick