Averill Park remains 'Local Support and Improvement' as board reviews state assessment data
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Summary
District presenter Matt Leighton told the board Jan. 12 that state assessment data — subject to a state embargo and cohort variation — show a 65% overall proficiency rate and that Averill Park retains a Local Support and Improvement (LSI) accountability designation; item-level and teacher-level analyses are being used to inform instruction.
Matt Leighton, the district’s academic presenter, told the Averill Park Central School District Board on Jan. 12 that the district’s most recent state assessment data should be viewed with caution because scoring and comparative reports arrive months after testing. "We had a 65% proficiency rate," Leighton said, adding that the number is a single point-in-time measure and must be read alongside cohort differences and later comparative data.
Leighton explained the state assessment timeline: students take grades 3–8 assessments in April–May; local regents results return faster than state-scored assessments, and full comparative context from other districts typically does not arrive until December. He said that the delayed, embargoed data limits immediate comparisons but still provides actionable insight at the question level.
To improve instruction, the district has started item-level analysis and teacher-level reporting. Leighton described teams that this past summer mapped essential standards and drilled down to individual questions to see which distractors students selected and which teachers’ cohorts performed differently. "That level of analysis is enormous," he said, noting teams use a 70% threshold to flag questions that require focused work.
Leighton also addressed test refusals. He said students can refuse a test (distinct from a formal opt-out) and that refusal rates are slightly higher than the state average, with middle-school refusals showing the biggest increases as students exercise their own choices. Board members asked whether a single-year dip (for example in eighth-grade ELA) represented a trend; Leighton said it is too early to conclude a multiyear trend and that question-level review across several years is the appropriate next step.
On accountability, Leighton walked the board through the state’s four-tier designations and reported that, after factoring in assessments, subgroup results, attendance and other indicators, the district remains designated as Local Support and Improvement (LSI) across its five buildings. "We're in good standing," he said, while urging continued local instructional work to raise performance.
The presentation concluded with administrative plans to continue summer team work, use question- and teacher-level data to target instruction, and monitor multi-year trends before adjusting programs or curricula. The board thanked Leighton for the overview and for the new teacher-level transparency that the administration says will support ongoing improvement.