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BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. Briarcliff high school students did well on Regents tests when compared with other students in surrounding districts, schools Superintendent Neal Miller said during a Board of Education meeting.
Miller showed the percentage of students who passed Regents exams in various subjects over three years, and the percentage that showed "mastery" of a subject, measured by a score of 85 or higher, during a presentation on Monday night.
Ninety-nine percent of Briarcliff students passed the English Regents exam in the 2010-2011 school year, Miller showed, while 88 percent scored 85 or higher. The scores were slightly higher than the average scores of six nearby school districts, which showed 98 percent passing and 80 percent scoring 85 or higher.
In algebra, 100 percent of Briarcliff students passed the Regents exam in the 2010-2011 school year, while 76 percent received a score of 85 or higher. The scores were again higher than the average scores of six nearby school districts which showed 98 percent passing and 51 percent scoring 85 or higher.
"The assessments are the end product of a year of study. They're meaningful, but they're not everything that we do," Miller said.
Miller also showed results of Global Studies, U.S. History, Geometry, Trigonometry, Earth Science, Living Environment, Chemistry and Physics Regents exams, and results of standardized state tests in English and Math for grades 3 8.
Moving forward, Miller said he would like to "raise the bar" by setting even higher standards and setting goals that would help students to "clear the bar." For high school students, Miller said he would like to increase the percentage of students that are accepted in to their first or second choice of colleges.
When Eric Bashford, a Board of Education trustee, asked what are the best measures of success for students, Miller said state exams are one type of measure, but the experiences that students have outside classrooms are "every bit as important."
Trustee Jennifer Rosen said she was glad that Miller did not consider SAT scores a good measure of success in schools, and she asked how to measure what percentage of students get into their top choice of colleges when students' top choices tend to change over the year.
Miller said students could be asked what their top choices for college are in September, and again in January when students are done with most of their college applications.
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