Saratoga Springs Does Well in Annual State Tests

The New York Department of Education has released the results of last year’s standardized tests. 

The results were released on Dec. 4 by the Department of Education. Tests for math and English Language Arts are given to students in grades three through eight while science exams are given to students in grades five and eight. The State also released data regarding the latest round of regents administered. 

Under the state’s current system, raw test scores are scaled based on the difficulty of the test and sorted into one of four levels to determine proficiency. Level one means a student is not proficient in the subject; level two is partially proficient; level three is proficient; and level four exceeds expectations. 

On the Regents exams — which are taken at the high school level — the exams are sorted into five levels based on student score. Below 55 is level one; 55-64 is level 2; 65-75 is level 3; 76-84 is level 4; and 85-100 is level 5. In order to be considered proficient, a student must score in level 3 or higher, while getting a regents diploma requires a score in level 4 or higher. 

Overall, Saratoga Springs did well in all the tests administered. In all subjects tested, the School District did better than the statewide results and saw more than half of students achieve a proficient rating or higher. 

Across the three subjects tested at the elementary and middle school level, — grades 3-8 for math and English Language Arts (ELA) and math, grades 5 and 8 for science — Saratoga Springs did the best in Math at 77% proficiency among students, well above the statewide proficiency of 58%. 

As for the other two categories, Saratoga Springs achieved 66% of students proficient in ELA and 68% proficient in science — compared to statewide proficiency of 53% in ELA and 51% proficiency in science. 

As for Regents exams, Saratoga Springs did the best in U.S. History and Government — achieving 94% proficiency compared to 75% at the state level. Its lowest proficiency was in Algebra 1 where 77% of students achieved proficiency, compared to 56% statewide. 

It was a similar story in Ballston Spa where students scored better than the statewide total, although with closer margins. 

In science, Ballston Spa achieved 69% proficiency compared to statewide proficiency of 51%. In ELA the margins were closer with 56% proficiency compared to 53% statewide. As for math, the State didn’t report Ballston Spa’s total proficiency across all grades, as one 7th grade student took the Regents exam. That said, all grades shown outpaced the state, with grade 8 achieving the highest proficiency at 82% compared to the rest of New York’s 60%. 

In terms of proficiency during the Regents exam, Ballston Spa’s top score came in Algebra 2 where they achieved 90% proficiency compared to 75% for New York as a whole. Their lowest proficiency score was in US History and Government, where they achieved 77% proficiency compared to 75% statewide. 

As for Schuylerville, they had very similar scores to Ballston Spa. 

In ELA for grades 3-8, the School District achieved the same exam proficiency as their neighbors to the southwest — 56% proficiency. In science, Schuylerville achieved 55% proficiency. 

Like Ballston Spa, Schuylerville had one grade 7 student take the Regents exam, so combined data is unavailable. In terms of grade level statistics, grade 4 achieved lower scores in math than the whole of New York State, 57% proficiency compared to 59%, while grade 8 outpaced the statewide statistics with 74% proficiency. 

Schuylerville’s best proficiency in the Regents exam came in physics where all 18 students who took the exam at Schuylerville achieved proficiency. The majority of students scored in the level 4 category — the highest level reported by the state for physics. 

Like Ballston Spa, Schuylerville’s lowest proficiency was in US History and Government — achieving 84% proficiency compared to 75% statewide. 

In a press release announcing the results of the statewide testing, the Department of Education highlighted the States’s NY Inspires program for helping schools achieve higher results. 

“This data tells a clear story: when educators have strong training, aligned curriculum, and consistent support, students benefit,” Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said. “Our professional development efforts, literacy initiatives, and curriculum guidance are working, and we see that reflected in classrooms across the state. A comprehensive, multi-measure assessment strategy gives us the insight we need to continue moving forward together. New York’s students deserve nothing less.”

Full data is available at saratogatoday.com