34 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • AUGUST 29, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
State math and English test scores
show improvement across Queens
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
New York City elementary and middle
school students are doing better academically,
according to the new English
language arts (ELA) and math test results
released Aug. 22 by the New York State
Education Department.
Citywide, 45.6 percent of New York
City students were profi cient in statewide
math tests given in grades 3 through 8 in
2019, according to the state Education
Department. Th is shows a 2.9 percentage
point increase from tests given in 2018,
when 42 percent of students were profi -
cient.
Students in grades 3 through 8 also
improved on the ELA exam, which
showed 47.4 percent of students were profi
cient in 2019, up 0.7 percentage points
from the 46.7 percent result in 2018.
“During my tenure with the New York
State Education Department, I’m proud
of the progress we have made in terms of
reducing gaps in student achievement,”
said MaryEllen Elia, state education
commissioner. “As I’ve consistently said,
assessments are a part of the larger picture
that we look at when we examine performance
levels across the state. Th is year’s
test scores are a positive sign that we are
making progress and I believe the deliberative
and thoughtful approach outlined in
our State’s ESSA plan will continue to benefi
t the students of New York state.”
Students in Syracuse and most of New
York’s other big cities did better this year,
but still lagged behind the state average.
About 16 percent of students declined to
take the test, according to the Department
of Education.
Th is year, in Queens, a total of 126,088
students were tested, resulting in an overall
profi ciency rate of 65,774 (52 percent);
compared to 2018, where 126,678 students
were tested with a profi ciency rate
of 66,009 (52 percent), according to data
by the Education Department.
Charter schools in Queens received an
overall profi ciency rate of 3,039 (58 percent),
with a total number of 5,203 students
tested for the ELA and math exams.
According to data, 52 third grade students
who took the ELA exam at the
Success Academy Charter School in South
Jamaica in School District 28, scored a
profi ciency level of 100 percent. Other
schools that topped the chart included
Th e Academy for Excellence Th rough
Th e Arts in Forest Hills, the Success
Academy Charter School in Rosedale
and the Baccalaureate School For Global
Education in Astoria — where third, seventh
and eighth grade students scored a
profi ciency level of 100 percent in ELA
and math.
In Queens School District 30, students
in grades 6, 7 and 8 at P.S. 122 in Astoria,
Th e 30th Avenue School (for gift ed and
talented children in Astoria) and P.S. 98
Douglaston School scored a profi ciency
level of 98 percent on the ELA and math
exams.
Ranking at the bottom of the list
with a profi ciency score of zero were
Bell Academy in Bayside, P.S./M.S. 114
Belle Harbor, Goldie Maple Academy and
the Academy of Medical Technology (A
College Board School) Far Rockaway, P.S.
111 Jacob Blackwell in Long Island City
and Th e Academy for New Americans in
Astoria.
Hunters Point Library in LIC gets September opening date
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e Hunters Point Library will fi nally
offi cially open in Long Island City next
month with a special event planned by the
Queens Public Library.
Th e project has had its ups and downs
along the way. To date, the high mark for
the project had been a topping off ceremony
in early October 2016 that saw
architect Steven Holl and elected offi cials
looking back – even at that seemingly
early stage – at the monumental eff ort just
to get the project rolling.
Th e 22,000-square-foot structure at
47-40 Center Blvd. will be open to the
public on Sept. 24 with a tour for press
and elected offi cials on Sept. 9.
“I’ve worked on this project since I was
a staff er at the Queens Public Library. And
while there have been moments of great
frustration with delays, I know that generations
of children and families will benefi t
because we stayed the course, invested the
money, and saw this project to its completion,”
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
said. “I’m proud to have allocated over
$10 million toward this project and I want
to thank all who made this moment possible,
including those like Fausta Ippolito,
who are no longer with us, but whose love
for this library sustained me, even in the
darkest of times.”
Ippolito was a Long Island City resident
and mother of two who worked to
gather signatures and support for with the
nearest library being the one inside the
CitiBank building. Ippolito died in 2011
of a rare form of cancer.
Th e names of early advocates for a
library in Hunters Point, including
Ippolito’s, were written on the inside of the
uncompleted walls of the building during
the 2016 topping off .
In total, the project was set to cost $38
million, but it is currently unclear as to
what the price tag will be, as there was an
extensive period of inactivity as the site
lasting a number of months. Th e developers
originally broke ground in May 2015
and had been expected to be completed
in the summer of 2017.
Photo by Bill Parry
Photo via Getty Images
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