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Red Hook reports steady graduation rates and mixed assessment results; refusals and test-pathway shifts noted
Summary
District leaders presented 2025 assessment data showing steady graduation rates, strong Regents performance in some subjects, increased Algebra 1 participation at Lynen Avenue, and variable refusal (opt-out) rates across grades; staff emphasized drill-down analysis for instruction.
District academic leaders presented publicly released 2025 assessment and graduation data and explained subgroup outcomes, testing pathways and refusal-rate trends.
Dr. Kitty Summers, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the board that assessment cut scores are determined through statewide standard-setting and that the district's public slide set reflected only data cleared for public discussion. She said 29 percent of students would qualify for free or reduced-price lunch metrics when measured absent the district's universal free-lunch program, and that 12 percent of test-takers were students with disabilities.
Dr. Summers and consultant Lisa Polo highlighted several points: a notable increase in Lynen Avenue students taking Algebra 1 (from 39 in 2023–24 to 52 in 2024–25) with strong Regents results, increases in living-environment participation, and declines in refusal rates in some grades for ELA and science. They cautioned that refusal (opt-out) is defined for state reporting as not completing the full assessment (for example, taking day one but not day two counts as a refusal), and that word-of-mouth can influence refusal behavior.
On Regents exams, presenters said Red Hook students performed well in English language arts (they cited about an 89 percent proficiency rate for the January administration) and that the district had nearly universal proficiency among its Algebra 1 regent takers. They also noted exam transitions: geometry and other Regents are being reissued on new forms, and some students' scores reflect first administrations of new tests or changes in delivery (grades 3–4 took computer-based math assessments for the first time in 2024–25).
Board members asked follow-up questions about refusal rates and the state's phased changes to Regents exams; presenters said state guidance is evolving but that the district uses multiple measures and drills down to individual-student and item-level analysis to guide instruction.
Dr. Summers concluded by presenting four-year graduation-rate methodology and reporting that graduation percentages remained relatively stable while cohort sizes have declined, which makes each student's outcome proportionally more influential on the percentage calculation.
The board accepted the presentation for information; staff said they would continue classroom- and cohort-level analysis to target instruction and interventions.
