NYC public schools released on Wednesday state test scores for grades three to eight from the 2023-2024 school year, as well as citywide screener data for lower grades.
The test results, released nearly two weeks before public schools reopen after summer vacation, are a mixed bag, and show students are still struggling with reading, despite the city having launched the NYC Reads initiative in 2023.
The city’s analysis of the preliminary data shows that math scores were up by 3.5 points, increasing from 49.9% proficient in 2023 to 53.4% in 2024. Reading scores among kindergarten through second-grade students increased by 1.8 points compared to the spring of the previous year, according to preliminary screening data.
However, when it comes to English Language Arts (ELA) in elementary and middle school, there was a notable 2.6-point decrease in proficiency in the subject.
‘Change doesn’t happen overnight’: Banks
The decrease follows a pattern in states that have undertaken new literacy strategies like NYC Reads, with “high-quality” curricula based in reading accompanied by extensive coaching and support for educators, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) described in a press release.
Implementing NYC Reads is still a work in progress. The city rolled out the literacy improvement program to only half the districts throughout the boroughs last year. This fall, the program will come to the remaining districts.
DOE officials used Tennessee and Mississippi as case points for the success rates of new literacy programs. In both states, where the student population is less than that of NYC, schools experienced initial declines in ELA scores before seeing significant long-term improvements, DOE officials said.
In both of those state school systems, education experts attribute the initial decline to the transitional period that many educators must go through to implement the curriculum. With this knowledge, officials said, the DOE has “intentionally measured” the initial success of NYC Reads by looking at implementation data.
Schools Chancellor David Banks said that using NYC Reads and NYC Solves, the city’s similar program for math, is helping to set the foundation for continued progress in coming years while acknowledging the slight decrease in ELA scores.
“Significant change does not happen overnight, and the slight decline in ELA test scores represents a transitional period as our school system adjusts to a new method of instruction,” he said. “While challenges remain in higher grades, our early successes signal that we are on the right path to enhancing student achievement across the board.”
Susan Neuman, NYU professor and member of the city’s literacy advisory council, added “change is difficult,” but is confident NYC Reads will work.
“These ELA scores reflect broad indicators of achievement; they’re not particularly sensitive to the more detailed changes in skills that we’re beginning to see,” she said. “The screener data is promising and probably a better measure of initial signs of improvement.”
The state plans to publicly release all final state test data by November.
The annual exams are required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.
