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Volume XVIII • Number 46 • November 10 - 16, 2011 •
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New SAT scores bring more bad news to RKA By MIAWLING LAM Seniors from Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy scored an overall combined average of 1,367 on the three parts ofthis year’s Scholastic Aptitude Test. New figures released by the College Board and published in the New York Post over the weekend shows RKA’s already anemic composite score took a 57-point drop in 2011. The school’s results—453 on critical reading, 463 on math and 451 on writing—meant it beat just 37 percent of high schools nationwide. However, because of the city’s comparatively poor performance, RKA was ranked 50th among more than 330 city high schools. In The Bronx, RKA placed fourth among 94 high schools, ranking behind only the borough’s two flagship specialized high schools—the Bronx High School of Science and the High School of American Studies—and by the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics in Morrisania. Due to the election on Tuesday, RKA principal Lori O’Mara could not be reached for comment. According to the College Board’s SAT percentile ranks, RKA is assessed as being roughly in the 32nd percentile for math, the 34th percentile for reading and the 37th percentile for writing.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz was alarmed by RKA’s low percentile ranking but sought solace in the fact the school fared better than its city peers. “I’m pleased that RKA is above the city average. That’s the good news. But the bad news is that the average is not very high,” he said. “Clearly, we have a lot of work to do in our local schools and throughout the city and the state.” Citywide, college-bound students scored an overall average of 1,327—436 on critical reading, 460 on math and 431 on writing. Last year, the city’s composite score was 1,329. Although the Class of 2011 recorded marks well below the national average of 1,500 and the state average of 1,460, Tweed officials insisted seniors were recording gains. Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott spun the results and boasted that the city’s college-bound seniors recorded smaller declines in scores than their national peers. Compared with last year, Walcott said, city students held steady in math and dropped just one point each in reading and writing, versus national declines of three points in reading, two points in writing and one point in math. “The more our students are exposed to college-level
tests and courses, the better prepared they will be for life after high school,” he said. “In a year when so many students took these tests for the first time, I’m proud of their…steady performance on the SATs, defying some of the trends we saw nationwide.” Students can score from 200 to 800 on each of the three SAT tests, with 2,400 the highest possible composite score. For the first time ever, the College Board estimated that students needed to score 1,550 on this year’s exams to have a 65 percent of averaging a B-minus in college. Just 19 of more than 330 city high schools met that benchmark, including nine of the city’s specialized high schools. According to the City University of New York, seniors must score at least 790 in their combined critical reading and math SAT exams to gain admission to the least selective of their four-year colleges—Medgar Evers College. To gain admission into Lehman College, students must score at least 1,020 and for Hunter College, it’s 1,197. Officials do not take into account results from the writing component. Continued on Page 2
Bronx resident places second in New York City Marathon
By BRENDAN McHUGH Though Sunday’s 2011 ING New York City Marathon barely touched The Bronx, the mainland was well represented in another way. Bronxite Buzunesh Deba came in second in the worldfamous race, giving the borough the attention it doesn’t receive in the 26.2-mile course itself. Deba, a native Ethiopian, was two seconds off the lead headed into the final mile in the women's race. But she and Kenyan Mary Keitany both fell victim to a late surge by fellow Ethiopian Firehiwot Dado. Deba, who lives on West 195th Street and trains at Van Cortlandt Park, finished second at 2:23:19 after looking positioned to win when the leaders entered Central Park. "I'm so happy when they're cheering me," Deba said in an interview with reporters after the race. "I know the course—I train it two times a week in Central Park." But Dado surged ahead, winning her first major marathon at 2:23:15—only four seconds ahead of Deba. According to reports, when
Deba and Dado reached the Willis Avenue Bridge, they were still 1 minute, 37 seconds behind Keitany—who said fatigue simply took over her legs in the last five kilometers. She fell to third at 2:23:39. Deba said she felt cramps in her sides early, when Keitany had broken away and again later in Central Park. She wasn’t sure how close the course passes where she lives, but she said a more Bronxcentered route could have made a difference in her time. "I felt a lot more confident when I was running in The Bronx, so if more of the race was in The Bronx, I would be very happy," Deba said through an interpreter after the race. The course touches The Bronx for only about one mile. Yankee Stadium can be seen in the distance, but that’s about it for the mainland. Deba’s second-place finish is her first podium finish at a major marathon. It was the second-closest women's finish in the race's history—four seconds behind the winner. She receives $105,000 in second-place and time-bonus prize money. She’s won nine of
the 12 marathons she's entered, but has finished seventh, tenth and now second in the New York City race. Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was ecstatic about Deba’s finish.
"I know I speak for all 1.4 million residents of The Bronx when I congratulate one of our own, Buzunesh Deba, on her strong performance in the ING New York City Marathon," Diaz said in a statement. "Ms. Deba is
among the best athletes in the world, and her incredible performance today makes that clear to all. She is a great ambassador for our borough, and today she has made myself and all of her fellow Bronxites proud."
Local civic leader Alec Diacou is joined by Congressman Eliot Engel cheering marathoners as they pass through the Bronx. Diacou’s group YES! The Bronx used the event to promote exercise and healthy living choices for local children.