Region 1 was thrust into the limelight last month when its fourth graders registered the city’s largest increase in state reading scores. Test results improved citywide, but local schools did especially well, many registering double digit improvements.

“It’s cause to celebrate,” said Irma Zardoya, superintendent of Region 1, in an interview.

Local officials weren’t as glowing about the middle school results. Scores for most local schools remained flat, or shifted slightly, in an exasperating trend mirrored statewide.

But something seems to be working at the elementary level. Scores rose by an average of nearly 19 percentage points at local schools over the last year, with bigger increases at PS 33, 46, 54, 56, 280, 291, and 340 (see chart). More than half of fourth graders received 3’s or 4’s (passing grades) at most schools, and many more succeeded at PS 8, 33, 51, 280, 291, and 340.

PS 33 has been the subject of citywide buzz, with 83 percent of its students passing and no Level 1’s (the lowest). The mayor visited the Jerome Avenue school last month to celebrate the scores, which he attributes to his reforms begun in 2003.

Elba Lopez, PS 33’s principal, says the school’s leap was aided by extra tutoring sessions before and after school, and on Saturdays. The initiative is region-wide, but PS 33 was especially successful in getting children to attend by involving their parents.

Teachers also devised improvement plans last fall for individual students. Additionally, Lopez brought back several retired teachers to work with small groups.

“It was a lot of work, believe me,” Lopez said.

Maria Quail, principal of PS 8 on Briggs Avenue, also employed small group work. Sets of students, divided by ability, were paired with teachers for five months. “We were very consistent,” Quail said.

Lopez and Quail also relied on detailed data about children’s previous test performance to tailor their lessons. The Department of Education (DOE) and Region 1 have recently made that information more available.

Both principals gave ample credit to Zardoya. For years, the veteran educator has put extra emphasis on professional development and literacy. “It has been a crusade of hers,” Quail said.

Region 1 did extra work training teachers how to incorporate literacy into other subjects, do daily reading and writing, and train students in testing. Zardoya said schools were given room to do intervention work as they saw fit. Some schools even utilized gym teachers in the preparation effort.

“It’s about creating a sense that every adult has ownership,” Zardoya said. “When it’s successful, everyone feels great.”

The middle school results didn’t offer such a lift. Less than one-third of eighth graders passed at local schools, and most saw their numbers barely budge. Many schools did succeed in keeping their number of Level 1’s low, and the district performed better than the citywide average in this respect.

“That’s really significant, especially when you look at where we were a number of years ago,” Zardoya said.

Bumping students up from Level 2 to passing scores has been a difficulty for many schools. For example, many students at MS 206, on Andrews Avenue, nearly passed. “Sometimes they missed it by only one or two questions,” said Ramona Barsuhn, an assistant principal at the University Heights school.

MS 206 will continue its Saturday preparation program for eighth graders, and plans to gradually expand it to younger students. They also conduct a preparation “blitz” before the test.

To address the chronic middle school problems all over the city, the DOE is breaking down large schools into mini-learning communities. MS 80 was separated into two houses last fall, and it will probably be further divided next year. Sonia Menendez, a regional administrator overseeing MS 80, said the change was too new to evaluate.

The city is also adding middle grades to successful elementary schools, like PS 280. Officials hope this setup will offer a smaller, more consistent environment.

Local administrators have found that middle schools aren’t adding enough analytical rigor to their curriculum, and that teachers need more training in building skills in literacy, not just literature.

Critics — either of the mayor’s, or testing in general — questioned the gains. Some limited-English students were exempt from the test, whereas other struggling students were held back in third grade after the mayor ended social promotion last year. “How do you compare apples and oranges?” asked Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

PS 8, 46, 54, and 94 did test fewer students, but Zardoya said that is due to an overall decrease in the Region’s enrollment. For the past few years, local kindergarten classes have steadily shrunk. That trend could eventually spell an easing of the area’s overcrowding.

Some teachers also wondered if the test was easier this year.

Even taking into account all the possible qualifying factors, Zardoya said Region 1’s city-leading gains were clearly significant.

Knowing they can’t rest on their laurels, principals now have to work at continuing to progress. “I’m hoping we can build on the good strategies that we put in place,” Quail said.