Data Definitions

Data sources and the calculations of key ratios used in the Data User's Guide are described below.

The median price of homes sold for more than $100,000 in each school district was calculated by downloading the county-wide files of recorded sales from the New York State Office of Real Property Services SalesWeb database at www.orps.state.ny.us. Data sets from five counties were used since some school districts in Rockland County extend into Orange County, and some districts in Putnam County extend into Duchess County. Sales transactions were sorted by school district, using district names, district code numbers, and in a few instances where these data were absent, municipal names that could be matched exclusively or predominantly with a single district. Data were further sorted to include the same property codes used to calculate the Average Residential Property Tax, described below. All properties that sold for less than $100,000 were excluded from consideration to avoid including anomalous transactions. The median of the remaining transactions that took place from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007 was then determined for each school district. The average residential property tax within school districts was obtained through the Municipal Profiles database on the website of the New York State Office of Real Property Services at www.orps.state.ny.us. The calculation was performed by selecting each county, then selecting Tax Rates & Levy Data, then selecting the Year 2006, and then selecting Average Residential Tax Bills by School District. Only those property taxes levied by school districts were used, not total property taxes combined. In those instances where a school district serves only one municipality, the average residential property tax bill for the entire district was already provided. In those instances where a school district serves more than one municipality, a weighted average was calculated based on the number of parcels situated in each municipality served by the district. Note that for these purposes, the Municipal Profile database defines "residential property" as state classification codes 200-283, 412 and 411c. These codes include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Year-round residences for one, two and three families, which may include houses, condominiums and apartments, with the exception of coops, which are excluded
• Rural residences with acreage
• Residential properties that are also used in agricultural production
• Estates
• Seasonal residences
• Mobile homes
• Multi-purpose/multi-structure residences, and those with incidental commercial use

The Coefficients of Dispersion for municipalities were provided by the New York State Office of Real Property Services. For a technical explanation of the coefficient's calculation, see the report on Assessment Equity in New York: Results from the 2006 Market Value Survey, at www.orps.state.ny.us/ref/pubs/cod/2006mvs/reporttext.htm. The State test data used to calculate the POST ratios for each school district were downloaded from the New York State Education Department’s website at www.nysed.gov. Data were drawn from the 2005-06 school year, in order to compare test results and tax bills from the same academic/fiscal year. Average residential tax bills for 2006-07 were not yet publicly available at the time this Guide was prepared, so the most recent year for which both types of data were available was 2005-06.The 18 State tests used to calculate the POST ratios include the following:

• English language arts tests in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school
• Math tests in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and high school
• Science tests in grade 4 and in high school
• Global History & Geography test in high school
• U.S. History & Government test in high school

Data from Regents exams (most often taken in high school) reflect the cohort of students who entered high school in 2002, and reflect their cumulative test results over time after four years of instruction, as of the 2005-06 school year. The Regents exams included in the POST indicators are the five exams that the state requires for high school graduation, and do not include exams for other elective courses. Social studies test data from grades 4 and 8 are not included in the POST indicators because this information was not available for all school districts. Science test scores from grade 8 are also excluded due to data irregularities in several districts.

The State categorizes students' performance on each test using one of four achievement levels, with Level 1 being the lowest, and Level 4 being the highest. Performance at Levels 1 and 2 does not meet the State's Learning Standards, while performance at Level 3 does meet the Standards, and performance at Level 4 exceeds the Standards. Therefore, two POST summary ratios were calculated as follows:

• The POST Levels 3 & 4 ratio is the percentage of all students' scores on 18 tests that met the State's performance criteria for Levels 3 or 4 (combined). For example, if a total of 1,000 tests were taken by the students in a school district, and the scores on 800 of them met the criteria for performance Levels 3 or 4, then the district’s POST Level 3 & 4 ratio would be 80%.

• The POST Level 4 ratio is calculated as the percentage of all scores on 18 tests that met the State's performance criteria for the highest category of achievement – Level 4.

Revenue data were drawn directly from the 2005-06 Masterfile for the New York State Education Department's Chapter 655 report, which was downloaded from the state's website at www.oms.nysed.gov/faru/Profiles/profiles_cover.htm. Total revenue reflects General, Debt Service and Special Aid Funds from local, state and federal sources. The disadvantaged enrollment data for each school district was obtained from the 2005-06 district report cards, published by the State Education Department at www.nysed.gov.