City Students Stalled on National Education Tests
New York City students this year showed few improvements on a respected national test, and many students scored no better than peers in large cities across the country, figures that will be released this morning show.
Scores on a math test for fourth-graders went up, but others are statistically flat since 2005.
The figures come from a yardstick test used to compare students across the country known as the nation's report card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Scores on NAEP are ordinarily released on a state-by-state basis only, but several large cities agreed to have their own figures reported for comparison purposes beginning in 2002. Compared to the rest of the country, New York City fourth-graders edge out large central cities slightly on average but fall behind the national numbers. Eighth-graders scored no better on a math test than students in large central cities. That pattern has been essentially unchanged since 2003, the year the Bloomberg administration began to initiate changes in the city's public schools.
The results also repeat a pattern of fourth-graders outperforming eighth-graders, despite recent results on a state test that seemed to show eighth-graders in New York finally making gains.
This year, 34% of fourth-graders scored proficient on the math test, up from 21% in 2003. That is below the national average, 39%, but above the average for large central cities, 28%. When it comes to reading, 43% of fourth-graders in the city this year did not reach the basic level — one step below proficient — down from 47% in 2003. Eighth-grade results were more dismal. In the city, 41% of eighth-graders cannot perform basic reading, up from 38% in 2003, the first year scores were reported, and above the percentages in Houston and Chicago, 37% and 39% respectively. On the math test, 43% of eighth-graders scored below basic, compared with 46% in 2003.
"We're particularly pleased by the strong performance of New York City fourth-graders. In math these students are performing at nearly the national average, which is remarkable given New York City's performance historically. We've also made significant progress closing the achievement gap in fourth grade. The performance of our eighth-graders, like those in most big cities, has been static," a Department of Education spokesman said.
