THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	Full Board
TITLE OF ITEM:	School Report Card Data
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	March 17, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Monitoring of Regents Policy Implementation
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

On March 17, Commissioner Mills publicly released the 2002-2003 statewide school report card data.  Attached is the powerpoint presentation used at the press conference.  At your March meeting, I will provide an overview of the school report card results for 2003.  Major trends in the data show:

 

·        More students are taking and passing Regents exams at 65 each year, even as five exams are required.

·        Of the 129,500 seniors in the 1999 cohort, 96 percent met the Regents English exam graduation requirement (scored between 55-100) in four years.   The majority of students (seniors and non-seniors) in all racial/ethnic groups scored over 55 on the Regents English exam after four years, but an achievement gap continues by race/ethnicity.

·        As many students scored 55 or higher on the Regents Math A exam in 2003 as took the Math I exam in 1996.

·        Most students become seniors in four years.  However, some students are held back in grade 9 because they are not prepared for high school work.  In 2002-2003, 14.9 percent of grade 9 students were held back.

·        Since higher standards were adopted in 1996, the number of high school graduates has remained stable and the percentage of students earning Regents diplomas has increased significantly.

·        Three-fourths of students in the 1998 graduation rate cohort graduated by August 2002.  Graduation rates varied significantly by need/resource capacity category.

·        While Hispanic and Black students in the 1998 graduation rate cohort have the lowest graduation rate after four years, they also have the largest percentage still enrolled and working toward diplomas.

·        More students are getting a Regents diploma, requiring a 65 passing score on eight exams.

·        Despite gains, an achievement gap continues in high school.

·        Elementary and middle school achievement is improving among all types of schools and all racial groups, compared to 1999 results.  More students are achieving all the standards in elementary English and math and middle school math.  Fewer students are achieving all the standards in middle school English.  These results were announced earlier in this school year.

 

 

 

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