New York City students earned a large increase in scores on the state’s standardized math exams last academic year and scored slightly higher on English exams, it was revealed on Wednesday.
Students clearing the proficiency benchmark on the Math exam spiked considerably — from 37.9% in 2022 to 49.9% in 2023 — during the first full school year under Mayor Eric Adams and his hand-picked Schools Chancellor David Banks.
The percentage of students achieving proficiency in English Language Arts rose from 49.0% in 2022 to 51.7% in 2023, a modest increase, the results showed.
“These results are extremely encouraging,” Banks said in a statement.
“Under the first year of this administration, we’re seeing more of our students on grade level and meeting the State’s learning standards, with significant gains in math and increases in ELA as well.”
But even Banks admitted the results, while positive, come with a big caveat.
The new exams were aligned to new standards put in place, so the results aren’t “directly comparable” with the prior year’s tests, according to the city Department of Education.
The chancellor, however, insisted the increase was a positive sign and was especially pleased with results showing a narrowing of the racial achievement gap.
“We also saw proficiency growth among the students we have historically let down: students of color, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities,” Banks said.
“These results tell us: we’re on the right track. We are making strides in our recovery from the pandemic, and we are going to build on this success this year and beyond.”
The disparity between Black and White students on the English exam declined by 2.1 percent in English and 2.2 percent in math.
Typically, an increase in test scores is a big success for the mayor, who is held accountable for the results as he is for crime statistics.
But Adams jetted off to Central America to address the migrant crisis before the results were released.
Banks said the Education Department’s new phonics-based NYC Reads initiative and other changes paid dividends in Community School District 11 covering the Northeast Bronx and District 19 in Brooklyn’s East New York.
The number of students reaching proficiency in English jumped 5.3 percentage points in both school districts, more than double the average citywide again of 2.7 percentage points.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, state exams were suspended and not administered during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years.
City students’ performance on the math exams plummeted in 2022 compared to 2019 while kids’ results on exams sunk across the country, which many educators blamed on lockdowns and inferior remote learning during the pandemic.