Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth said he was not surprised by Herricks students’ lower scores state tests in mathematics and English Language Arts that for the first time were based on the Common Core Curriculum
“They weren’t much different than I expected,” Bierwirth said. “Even if the assessments had stayed the same, the scores would have changed because the benchmarks changed.”
In eighth grade math, 60 percent of Herricks students who took the test met state standards, compared to 79 percent last year. In eighth-grade English, 69.8 percent of Herricks eighth graders met state standards, compared to 81.2 percent last year.
The results in Herricks mirrored those of districts across the state, which showed large drops in performance under the new tests.
During a presentation at last Thursday night’s Herricks Board of Education meeting, Bierwirth attributed the difference in the scores to teachers now being required to cover less course material in greater depth. He said the new common core places greater emphasis on application of knowledge and skills.
As co-chair of the state education department’s committee for assessment statewide, Bierwirth said he had anticipated the test results would show lower scores with implementation of the state’s new common core curriculum.
He said Herricks had already emphasized greater depth in its curriculum to prepare students for high school and college courses. But the new common core, he said, sets up “very much higher” benchmarks for English and math skills. He said he expects the test scores to be higher next year.
Bierwirth said district educators need to put the test scores in context with other academic measures to evaluate what the state test results mean and what curriculum changes are needed.
“We have a large body of information about our kids. We will look at all that information,” he said. “We will make adjustments based on the whole picture.”
Herricks school board President Jim Gounaris said the district would come up with a plan “to improve on what we do so well.”
Bierwirth also warned against putting too much emphasis on the results of standardized test scores.
“A rigorous high school program is more important than an SAT or ACT score,” he said.
He said ninth grade students face the challenge of “ramping up” to prepare for English Advanced Placement classes in 11th grade. He said he’s not sure what the benchmark will be for ninth grade math, but said it will probably be proficiency in algebra or trigonometry.
“We will look at these [results]. We will take them into account. But we’re not going to let them turn us upside down,” Bierwirth said. “The meaningful part of this is college readiness objectives. That’s out goals.”
