August 2010

Dear Parents & Guardians:

On July 6, the New York State Commissioner of Education visited the Rochester area to meet with school district representatives. At these meetings, he discussed the anticipated release of the 2010 grade 3 through 8 mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) assessment results. During the meeting, the Commissioner stated that he would be recommending to the Board of Regents at their July 2010 meeting the establishment of new ‘cut scores.’ Cut scores are used to distinguish levels of student performance on standardized tests. They indicate at what level a student is meeting standards. The Board of Regents approved the Commissioner’s recommendations at the July meeting.

Because of the change in cut scores, all NYS school districts will see a decline in their math and ELA level 3 and 4 performance rates (meeting or exceeding standards) as compared to the 2009 results. Students, who may have performed at a level 3 or 4 last year, may now be at another level.

According to the State Education Department, students’ average scores remained about the same for 2010 when compared with the 2009 assessments. The State Education Department indicated that this year’s assessments were designed to test more content than in previous years. This suggests that the decline in level 3 and 4 scores may be attributable to raising the cut score and not from any decline in individual student performance. In other words, a lower cut score does not mean your child has lost ground academically. It means that the bar has been set higher. For example, a 3rd grade student in 2009 with a score of 650 would have placed at level 3 on the math assessment. This year a 3rd grade student will need a score of 684 to score at level 3.

We will carefully review and analyze our students’ performance on the 2010 state assessments. The NYS assessments are one measure of a students’ academic performance. When we determine a students’ academic standing, we use several assessments, both formal and informal. At this time, we have not received your child’s Individual Student Score Report for math and ELA assessments from the State Education Department. When we do, they will be sent to you.

Every child deserves to be prepared for his/her future by receiving a high quality education. Wayland-Cohocton Central Schools has always maintained high expectations for our students and staff. To this end, we support increasing standards for student achievement. Our dedicated staff will work with the information from the State Education Department to prepare students to be successful in meeting the new state standards.