Harrison State Test Scores Stable, Above County Average

Results from the New York State Assessment Program (NYSTP) for grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics provided encouraging news for Harrison this week.

Local math scores increased nearly across the board from one year ago, while ELA scores remained steady. District-wide scores remain on-par or above the state and county averages, according to mean scale scores released by the state.

Harrison showed the largest year-to-year improvement in math scores, with mean scale test scores increasing by an average of more than 4 percent across the six tested grades. Local students exceeded the state and county average mean scale score in each grade level in math.

The biggest jump took place in 8th grade, where the mean math score across the district jumped from 689 to 699 in one year. No local grades scored substantially lower than a year ago.

Local ELA scores remained steady from 2011, increasing by less than a percentage point. Harrison's scores were still greater than the county average in every grade but sixth, where the county and local averages matched.

The tests were taken across the state this spring and are aimed at measuring the percentage of students who meet the state's proficiency standards in each school district. More detailed numbers are available here.

Westchester County students again performed much better than the state average. But average scores from across the state increased this year, as did the number of students who met or exceeded the proficiency standard on both exams, according to the New York State Department of Education.

Significant achievement gaps also remain across the state, as a smaller percentage of African American and Hispanic students were proficient in both ELA and Math when compared to white students state wide.

"There is some positive momentum in these numbers," Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said in a statement. "But too many of our students, especially students of color, English Language Learners and special education students, are currently not on a course for college and career readiness.  That’s why we are continuing to press forward with critical reforms to ensure all of our kids are ready for college and careers.  In the fall we will begin to phase in a new, more challenging, content rich curriculum and continue to press for the implementation of a rigorous teacher evaluation system in every district across the state."

Here is a look at Harrison's Year-to-Year Results Across the District:

ELA

Math

Harrison 2011-12 scores vs. Westchester County average

ELA

Math

*All scores are mean scale averages from the New York State Department of Education.