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Sayville to ‘hold harmless’ students after Earth Science Regents score drop; teachers’ APPR rating unaffected, district says
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Mark Ferris told the board the district will protect students from negative course impacts tied to the Earth Science Regents exam amid reported statewide drops in passing rates; administration said teacher evaluations are still annual but no longer tied to state scores.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Ferris and district staff addressed concerns about this year’s Earth Science Regents exam and outlined how the district will respond.
Ferris described statewide reports of sharp declines in passing rates — "many districts had 20 to 30% drops in passing rates" — and said the district’s internal analysis showed a smaller decline. "I think we were at about 10%...14%," he said, language in the meeting that staff characterized as an approximate figure. To avoid penalizing students for state test changes, the district said it will "hold harmless if the grade harms the child," meaning scores will be posted on transcripts but the district will take steps so a poor Regents result will not lower a student’s overall course grade.
Staff clarified that teacher evaluations continue on an annual basis but are not connected to state test scores. Amy (surname not specified) described the APPR state-score component as based on five Regents exams, including Earth Science, and said the current calculation still places teachers in the "highly effective" band despite the dip in one subject’s pass rate. The administration noted future changes to the evaluation plan are planned through the appropriate committee.
Board members thanked staff for the analysis; Ms. Brecker and Ms. Timiola were singled out for leading the effort. The board did not record a roll-call vote specifically adopting a change; the meeting record shows the district implementing an operational hold-harmless approach for affected students while retaining existing annual teacher observations.
What to know: the district did not provide a precise statewide or district numeric breakdown in the public discussion; the transcript contains approximate percentages discussed by staff. Parents seeking details were directed to await further communication from administration.
