The scores of New York City students increased slightly in both math and English language arts on the latest state tests, released on Aug. 14, as students became more familiar with the Common Core Learning Standards and their teachers worked hard with what materials and training they eventually got.

Not surprisingly, only about one-third of students met standards in math and fewer than 30 percent met ELA standards, as the Common Core tests set very high proficiency benchmarks. However, the second year of the new tests saw improvement across all racial and ethnic groups and for English language learners and students with disabilities.

Performance gaps between black and Latino students and their white and Asian counterparts remained wide — some 30 points in ELA and even more in math.

“Thanks to hard work by students and teachers, city scores on the latest state tests showed modest improvements,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “But the racial achievement gaps, which the Bloomberg administration kept claiming it was closing, remain a major problem that the schools and the new administration must focus on. Real improvement happens in well-resourced classrooms with well-supported teachers. We look forward to moving in that direction in the new school year.”

Charter schools once again performed a little worse in ELA and a little better in math than district schools. New York City charters as a group, however, scored higher than charter schools in the rest of the state.

Controversy followed the State Education Department’s release of the scores. In six out of 10 tests, students needed fewer right answers this year to get the same score. State education officials explained that some of this year’s test questions were harder, but this did not quiet all critics.

Another concern emerged around the number of students who had opted out of taking the tests. State Education Commissioner John King estimated that 55,000 students had opted out statewide, five times as many as last year, as parental anger around testing grew. The city Department of Education said it had formal notification from just 1,925 city students opting out.

A different atmosphere

The atmosphere around the release of the results was markedly different under the new mayor and chancellor. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carmen Fariña kept the announcement low-key.

De Blasio welcomed the gains but said pointedly that “a school is not the sum of its test scores.” Fariña emphasized her plans for supporting teachers as they teach to the Common Core standards. She has made clear that student promotion will no longer be based on test scores alone.

In addition, state legislation that was passed in Albany in June ensures that teachers who receive poor final ratings based on these Common Core tests will have their ratings recalculated using other measures, and this year’s test results will not go on student records, an acknowledgement that curriculum and professional development to support the Common Core rollout has been inadequate.

The grade-by-grade test score results in the table above shows especially strong gains in 4th- and 8th-grade ELA and 3rd- and 5th-grade math. The 8th-grade math results were lower because some 10,000 higher-performing 8th-graders did not sit for the state tests this year, taking the Algebra I Regents instead.

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Grade-by-grade test scores, with change from last year

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