In the 2023-24 school year, 40.8% of the students in Columbia County were considered proficient in English Language Arts, a 2.6% decrease from the previous year, according to the New York State Education Department.
Among them, 28.1% met expectations on their tests and 12.7% exceeded them.
Within the county, Ichabod Crane Middle School and Germantown Junior-Senior High School students performed the best in English Language Arts, with 53% of them considered proficient in the subject. Meanwhile, Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School students fared the worst, with only 22% passing the test.
For comparison, the state registered an overall proficiency rate of 46.2% in English Language Arts.
A recent study by Scholaroo ranked New York’s education system among the best in the U.S., and place it as the second best in terms of school quality.
Currently, the state has the highest per-pupil spending in the nation at $33,440, or a total of $84.7 billion annually.
| School | Students who met standards (%) | Students who exceed standards (%) | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ichabod Crane Middle School | 36% | 17% | 648 |
| Germantown Junior-Senior High School | 39% | 14% | 198 |
| Ichabod Crane Elementary School | 32% | 19% | 462 |
| Germantown Elementary School | 31% | 15% | 277 |
| Walter B. Howard Elementary School | 26% | 18% | 220 |
| New Lebanon Junior-Senior High School | 30% | 14% | 191 |
| Taconic Hills Elementary School | 32% | 10% | 538 |
| Taconic Hills Junior/Senior High School | 22% | 18% | 493 |
| Mary E. Dardess Elementary School | 27% | 11% | 381 |
| Chatham Middle School | 26% | 11% | 205 |
| Hudson Junior High School | 21% | 10% | 376 |
| Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School | 18% | 4% | 719 |
