The Peru Gazette

A Buffalo regional business publication called Business First ranked 431 Upstate New York high schools based on four years of New York State Education Department academic data. Peru Central did not fair too well either regionally or statewide ranking 11th out of 21 local districts and 322nd of the 431 Upstate Districts.  Peru Interim School Superintendent A. Paul Scott withheld comment without seeing the Business First study. He said only a capsule summary of the study appeared to be available online.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise interviewed the Business First Editor Jeff Wright. He emphasized that testing is not a complete indicator of a school district’s performance.  He said that it’s just one measure and that factors such as quality of life, music programs, theater and arts programs are also very important. He concluded, “It’s not just all about test scores.”

According to Business First,”The rankings reflect the collective performance of each district’s public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The rating formula analyzed four years of data from the New York State Education Department, covering the period from 2007 through 2010, the latter being the most recent year for which a complete set of test data was available. The formula placed the greatest weight on results from the most recent academic year. Ten percent of each district’s rating was determined by the percentage of graduates who earned Regents diplomas, with special emphasis on diplomas with advanced designations. Another 50 percent was based on its high school students’ scores on Regents exams in 13 subjects: English, French, Latin, German, Spanish, integrated algebra, mathematics B (or geometry), earth science, living environment, chemistry, physics, global history and U.S. history. The final 40 percent was based on eight elementary and middle school tests: English, math and science for fourth graders, social studies for fifth graders, and the same four subjects for eighth graders.”

“Each test from each year was analyzed twice. 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.”

• 1. Chazy (Clinton County)

• 2. Saranac Lake (Franklin County)

• 3. Westport (Essex County)

• 4. Lake Placid (Essex County)

• 5. Plattsburgh (Clinton County)

• 6. Ticonderoga (Essex County)

• 7. Saranac (Clinton County)

• 8. Chateaugay (Franklin County)

• 9. Elizabethtown-Lewis (Essex County)

• 10. Beekmantown (Clinton County)

• 11. Peru (Clinton County)

• 12. Tupper Lake (Franklin County)

• 13. Northeastern Clinton (Clinton County)

• 14. Saint Regis Falls (Franklin County)

• 15. Malone (Franklin County)

• 16. Ausable Valley (Clinton County)

• 17. Willsboro (Essex County)

• 18. Northern Adirondack (Clinton County)

• 19. Salmon River (Franklin County)

• 20. Brushton-Moira (Franklin County)

• 21. Moriah (Essex County)

• Click here for the full list of Upstate school district rankings.

• Click here for separate district rankings within all eight regions across Upstate New York.

• Click here for top-to-bottom subject rankings of all districts in English, math, science and social studies.

• Click here for a district-by-district database of standardized test scores.

• Click here for the complete list of National Merit Scholarship semifinalists from high schools across the state.

• Click here for the budgeted salaries for school superintendents across the state.

• And click here for an explanation of how the school ratings were done.