Letters to the Editor
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‘Why I Resigned’
Diane Ravitch describes the performance of New York City public school students on the benchmark National Assessment for Educational Progress as “dismal” [Op-ed, “Why I Resigned,” February 15, 2008].
She suggests this is an assertion of fact and “not a matter of opinion.” There are facts she neglects to mention.
Since Mayor Bloomberg gained control of the schools in 2002, the percentage of New York City’s 4th-grade students scoring at or above a basic level in reading on NAEP has risen 10 points, to 57% from 47%. That increase has been led by the city’s African-American 4th-graders, who achieved a larger gain in reading scores than their peers in other large cities during this time and who have closed the achievement gap with white students.
The percentage of African-American 4th-graders achieving at or above the basic level in New York City is higher than the average for all African-American 4th-graders nationally, wherever they live.
Ms. Ravitch acknowledges the city’s gains in 4th grade math, but doesn’t do them justice. Rising 12 points since 2003, the percentage of our 4th-graders at or above the basic level is now only two points below the national average, a position hardly imaginable five years ago.
The city’s Hispanic and African-American 4th-graders each improved 14 points during this time, significantly closing the achievement gap; these students made greater gains and outscored, on average, the rest of the nation’s Hispanic and African-American 4th-graders.
There are other notable results: New York City low-income students, for instance, consistently outperformed their peers in other large cities and the nation in 4th grade.
Not all the news was good, of course: 8th-grade reading scores declined slightly, confirming that we have a lot of work to do in addressing the needs of middle school students.
The NAEP results showed that, on average, young African-American and low-income students, as well as many Hispanic students, are performing better in New York City schools than anywhere else in the country.
No fair-minded person would characterize the NAEP results as “dismal.”
DAVID CANTOR
Press Secretary
Department of Education
New York, N.Y.
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