East Hampton School District Pleased With Test Results
East Hampton High School students aced some new Regents exams and made gains on others taken at the end of the 2015-16 school year, according to data released this month by the school district. Students did fall behind or stay level in a few Regents subjects, however, while separate Advanced Placement test results were lower than national averages.
Students showed improvement in algebra, physics, chemistry, and United States history when compared to similar tests taken the previous year. For tests that were not comparable to those in previous years, due to changes made by the New York State Education Department, passing rates were well received by administrators.
Students had a 79-percent passing rate on the Common Core algebra test last year, compared to 58 percent the previous year. In chemistry, the passing rate went from 72 percent in 2014-15 to 80 percent in 2015-16. The passing rate in physics went from 84 percent to 100 percent. Students went from 94 percent to 95 percent in U.S. history.
On the English Regents exam, which was new in 2015-16, 95 percent of students passed. On the new algebra 2 test, which incorporates trigonometry, 94 percent of students passed.
“To achieve at that level in English was impressive for us. That’s a brand new exam; we never gave it to our kids here,” Adam Fine, the high school principal, said in an interview. “We have also been ahead of the curve in algebra and trigonometry.”
Among the areas in which students fell behind was global studies, in which the passing rate dropped from 87 percent to 81 percent. The earth science passing rate dropped from 80 percent to 71 percent. Students stayed level in geometry, at 89 percent, and in living environment, which is a biology course, at 91 percent.
High school students must pass a certain number of Regents exams to be able to graduate. In many cases, exam results count as 4 percent of the final grade.
“I don’t put an incredible huge emphasis on end-of-the-year scores, but it is a good barometer to see how your kids are doing in certain areas,” Mr. Fine said.
The district also released the results of last year’s Advanced Placement courses, which Mr. Fine said were lower than national averages. He attributed this to East Hampton’s open-enrollment policy, which allow students to take AP courses regardless of their previous grades. He said enrollment is limited in many other districts to honors students who are screened based on high grades.
Advanced Placement tests are developed by the College Board, which also administers the SAT and PSAT. They are graded on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest grade. East Hampton’s highlights included average scores of 4 in macroeconomics and in drawing, 3.79 in studio art, 3.58 in Spanish, 2.8 in statistics, 2.7 in U.S. history, and 2.74 in physics. The district offers 20 different AP courses.
“The true marker is how many kids I have who are doing really high level, complex, rigorous work. I love it. It’s exactly what the College Board wants. They don’t want any barriers preventing kids from taking these exams. I could not be more proud of the district,” Mr. Fine said.