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Editorials
The Business First 2008-09 guide to Western New York school rankings was just released. Like many other Lancaster taxpaying residents, I was quite interested in examining the data to determine whether Lancaster was getting a bang for its spending and whether we moved up in performance rank.
Lancaster dropped one spot from last year’s rank and is now 16th in a field of 97 school districts analyzed. Business First analyzed school systems in the eight-county region, using four years of data (2004-2007) from the NYS Education Department.
The greatest weight was given to results from the most recent academic year. The following rankings show the collective performance of each districts public high, middle and elementary schools and places them on this year’s Honor Roll:
1. Williamsville (Erie County)
2. Clarence (Erie County)
3. Amherst (Erie County)
4. Orchard Park (Erie County)
5. East Aurora (Erie County)
6. Alfred-Almond (Allegany County)
7. Alden (Erie County)
8. Bemus Point (Chautauqua County)
9. Iroquois (Erie County)
10. Grand Island (Erie County)
11. Sweet Home (Erie County)
12. Hamburg (Erie County)
13. Wilson (Niagara County)
14. Lewiston Porter (Niagara County)
15. Frontier (Erie County)
16. Lancaster (Erie County)
17. Southwestern (Chautauqua County)
Business First (BF) Analysis
According to BF, school rankings are driven by numbers, namely, the results of standardized tests administered from the elementary years up through high school. As teachers grade students according to their performance on tests, BF collects a wide range of test results for each district and school and then grades them on performance.
Ten percent of each district’s ranking was determined by the number of graduates who earned Regents diplomas, with special emphasis on diplomas with advanced designations.
Fifty (50) percent was based on high school student scores on Regent exams in thirteen (13) subjects.
The final forty (40) percent was based on eight elementary and middle school tests. The formula considered the percentage of students who demonstrated superior skills, as well as the percentage with basic skills. Superior on a Regents exam is defined as a score of 85 or better. Basic is defined as 65 or better.
Business First Lancaster stat profile
According to Business First:
The school district population is 38,235.
K-12 enrollment is 6,247.
Pupil to teacher ratio is 14.2, second highest; pupil to Administration ratio is 241.6.
Lancaster is ranked 3rd in cost effectiveness – spending per pupil. (The lower spending can be attributed to the school district teacher experience and salary; 27% early, only 16.4% advanced.
Lancaster is 12th among Erie County’s 28 districts.
94% of Lancaster high students graduated in the 2007-08 school year.
Lancaster’s rate of 43.9% grads receiving Regents diplomas with advanced designations ranks 45th among Western New York’s 97 districts.
No subject awards for scholastic achievement were received by high, middle or elementary schools in the Lancaster Central School District. (Subject Awards: The academic categories in which the district ranks among the top 10 percent of all districts in Western New York.)
Of the 200 highest paying jobs at Western New York School Districts (based on 2007-08 budgets), the Lancaster Superintendent placed 9th at $165,000; the Assistant Superintendent placed 54th at $131,161; the High School principal placed 71st at $126,049; the elementary school principal 163rd at $113,199.
High School rankings
Lancaster High School ranked 39th (70.1% percentile) in the 128 high schools considered. It was last rated at 33. In the 2002-03 school year it was ranked 26th.
Among the public schools considered it was ranked 28th out of 113.
St. Mary’s HS moved up 32 spaces this year and was ranked 21st (84.3% percentile).
Middle School rankings
Moving up seven places, Lancaster Middle School was ranked 57th out of the 211 schools considered (public and private), a 73.3% percentile. Lancaster MS was ranked 26h of the 147 public schools considered.
St. Mary’s moved one spot down and was ranked 51 (76.2% percentile). Ranked 29 of 64 private schools considered.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament moved 41 spaces down in rankings and is now ranked 72 out of the 211 middle schools considered (66.2% percentile). Ranked 35 of the 64 private schools considered.
Our Lady of Pompeii moved from 58 to 92 in the rankings of 211 middle schools (56.7% percentile). Ranked 41st in the 64 private schools considered.
Elementary school rankings
Of the 289 elementary schools rated by Business First this year, William Street School was ranked 60th (79.5% percentile), the same as last year. It was ranked 38th of the 224 public schools considered.
Central Avenue, Como Park, Court Street, Hillview and John A. Sciole elementary schools were not rated by Businesses First this year. Rankings were based on test performances which exclude K-3 classes.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School, ranked 92th last year, came in at 68 this year (76.7 % percentile). Among the private schools considered in the 289, the school ranked 27 of 65.
St. Mary’s, ranked 135 last year, came in at 124 this year (57.3% percentile). Among the 65 private schools, St. Mary’s ranked 42nd.
Our Lady of Pompeii ranked 217 last year was ranked 171 this year (41% percentile). It ranked 46th out of the 65 private schools considered.
Unfortunately, the data used by Business First was based not only on current data, but data ranging in age from two to four years.
The Lancaster Central School District made a Power Point presentation Monday evening that focused on 2007-08 data that indicate Lancaster’s education program is headed in the right direction to achieve student academic success and better BF future rankings.
NEXT: Lancaster Central School District response to Business First rankings
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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