FOREST HILLS — The secret to having your students ace statewide reading and math tests is to make sure you don’t treat the exams like they’re the be-all-end-all of existence.
That’s the advice of Anne Zuschlag, principal of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy in Forest Hills, whose students have achieved outstanding scores in the most recent statewide English Language Arts (ELA) and math tests.
The results of the exams, which were given to fourth, sixth, and seventh grade students last spring, were recently announced, and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs scored higher in both subject areas than other schools in the diocese and their public-school counterparts.
In Fourth Grade ELA, 100% of the students at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs who took the exam met or exceeded the standards set by New York State. The school also posted perfect results in Seventh Grade ELA and Seventh Grade Math.
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“Each one of us knows that these children have worked hard, and their parents have worked hard,” Zuschlag said. “And we are all really committed to success.”
Diocese fourth graders scored 67% in Fourth Grade ELA, 68% in Seventh Grade ELA, and 66% in Seventh Grade Math.
The diocese’s overall results topped those of New York City public school scores. The public-school results in the same categories were: 57% in Fourth Grade ELA, 55% in Seventh Grade ELA, and 58% in Seventh Grade Math.
Deacon Kevin McCormack, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn, said he is pleased with the results, which are even more impressive given that the diocese has fewer resources than public schools. Deacon McCormack said that, on average, public schools spend $42,000 per child each school year, while the diocese spends $11,000.
“That being said, our testing is about 10 points above theirs and more in some cases,” he explained. “We do it because we’re able to have our teachers and our kids closer together. There’s not a lot of bureaucracy above them.”
Deacon McCormack also highlighted the diocese’s class configuration.
“Our classes are inclusive, so we have the top kids and those kids who struggle in a particular grade working together,” he said. “That doesn’t hold the top kids down. It pushes everybody up together.”
While she is proud of her school’s results, Zuschlag emphasized that Our Lady Queen of Martyrs’ goal is to foster an environment where teachers have the tools they need to succeed and children receive the support they need to develop a love of learning.
To that end, she said retired teachers often come back to serve as mentors to younger teachers, the school brings in coaches from Generation Ready (a nationwide education program used by the diocese), provides additional resources for students who are struggling, and makes full use of whatever Title I federal programs are available.
Under Title I, public and private schools with students from low-income families are entitled to additional educational and social services. Zuschlag said that approximately 10% of the school’s 330 students have disabilities and have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
“I don’t think there’s any one thing that we do,” Zuschlag said of the school’s efforts to help students. “I think very much it’s a part of a culture of reaching for each child’s individual excellence and recognizing it early and supporting it as we move along.”
Eighth grader Olivia Maciag said she has benefited from that approach.
“It is rigorous, but there’s a way to handle it all,” she said. “Teachers make sure you can handle it all. When they give you homework, they prepare you for it.”
Olivia said she also appreciates the different approaches her teachers take.
For example, she pointed to the ELA enrichment program where “we read plays, we act them out, we analyze them.” Such an approach, she said, “gives us a better grasp on different concepts.”
Jenny Haddock, who teaches fourth grade, said she and other teachers emphasize the same point to the students. “It is work, work, work. We love you,” she explained. “We want you to work. We believe in you. We have faith in you.”
Haddock, who joked that she takes about 15,000 steps a day walking around her classroom while working one-on-one with kids, said she regularly contacts parents to keep them abreast of their children’s progress.
“Everyone’s really, really invested in the kids,” she said. “I know we try very hard to know their individual needs and meet them where they’re at and give them confidence.”
Deacon McCormack said that offering faith-based education is also a key factor in the success of Catholic Schools.
“It’s not the eighth subject,” he said. “It’s the glue that holds everybody together.”