Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza Announce NYC Students Continue to Outperform NY State on English Exams and Continue to Close Gap on Math Exams

September 26, 2018

NEW YORK––Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza today announced that New York City students are outperforming New York State on State English exams, and are continuing to close the gap with the State on State math exams. New York City students outperformed the State on State English exams for the first time ever in 2016 and have now done so for three years in a row.

In 2018, 46.7 percent of New York City students met proficiency standards in English and 42.7 percent of students met the standards in math. By comparison, 45.2 percent of all New York State students met proficiency standards in English and 44.5 percent met proficiency standards in math.

“We came into office to shake the foundation of a system that neglected too many students, parents, teachers and schools,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We now have a school system that is steadily improving before our eyes. We’ve seen steady gains across our students’ State math and English exams, proving that equity and excellence go hand in hand. I salute our students on their progress.”

“Our students’ performance on these exams is one measure of the strength of New York City schools – the hard work of our students, and the dedication and support of our teachers, staff, and families,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “Along with record-high graduation and college enrollment rates and progress on our Equity & Excellence for All agenda, these scores are indicative of the sustained progress we have made in classrooms, schools and districts across all five boroughs. We have much more work to do to close opportunity gaps, and we will continue our push to deliver the equitable and excellent education that every New York City public school student deserves.”

New York City schools are the strongest they’ve ever been across multiple measures, including:
· The highest-ever graduation rate – 74.3 percent of the Class of 2017.
· The lowest-ever dropout rate – 7.8 percent of the Class of 2017.

• The highest-ever postsecondary enrollment rate – 57 percent of the Class of 2016.
• The highest-ever number of New York City students taking and passing Advanced Placement exams and the SAT exam.

New York City students’ performance on State exams goes hand-in-hand with these gains, and reflects investments in the Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda.

Starting in spring 2018, the New York State Education Department reduced the number of testing days from three to two per exam. Because of this and other changes to the State exams in 2018, the New York State Education Department has advised that 2018 results should not be compared to 2017 results. Therefore, our key findings focus on overall proficiency comparisons between New York City students and their peers in the rest of the State, because all students took the same exams in 2018:

· New York City students outperformed New York State on English, with 46.7 percent of students meeting proficiency standards, compared to the State’s 45.2 percent. This is the third year in a row that New York City students have outperformed their State peers on English, with the difference increasing each time. This year, the difference increased from 0.8 percentage points to 1.5 percentage points.
· New York City students continued to close the gap with New York State on the State math exams, from 2.4 percentage points to 1.8 percentage points.

Prior to the test revisions, New York City students’ English and math results had increased every year for four years. English results improved in each of the City’s 32 community school districts for four years in a row.

“I commend Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza on today’s announcement and congratulate New York City students on their achievement to outperform anticipated testing in English and math,” said Congressman Adriano Espaillat. “As the percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) in our classrooms continues to grow in New York City and in communities across the country, it remains vital that we ensure ELL students and teachers are not left behind when new policies are implemented. Our work must continue to ensure that all students are afforded the opportunity to meet and excel beyond minimum proficiency standards required in English, math and all subjects to guarantee their future success and the future progress of our city.”

“This is great news for our City and evidence that Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda is yielding results. Nothing is as important to our future generations as a quality early education. I applaud Mayor de Blasio for making this issue a priority from the start of his Administration and focusing on closing the educational and opportunity gaps that are leaving our students behind,” said Congressman Jose E. Serrano.

"Today's announcement that New York City students’ English and math results have increased every year for the past four years is a victory for our youth and the future of New York City. Although there is still work to be done, it is promising that our students have exceeded the New York State average in English, and continue to make strides in closing the gap in math,” said State Senator José M. Serrano. “Many thanks to Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza for their dedication to the continued progress of New York City schools."

“Families throughout my community know that improving educational outcomes for our students is essential to opening the doors of opportunity for our kids,” said Assembly Member Latoya Joyner. “The latest data suggests that the performance of New York City’s students now exceeds statewide levels and I look forward to working with Mayor de Blasio and his administration to improve the quality of education our children are receiving.”

“While I do not believe that test scores are the be-all and end-all of student achievement, when used properly, they can be important indicators of where students stand academically,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm. “I am pleased to see that New York City public school students are moving in the right direction and congratulate the administration on this accomplishment.  I am sure everyone will agree that more work remains to be done but it is good to know that we are making progress.”

“Test scores are far from the whole story, but these results are the latest sign that New York City schools are moving forward, though there is still work to do,” said Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers.

“While we recognize that any one test score is not indicative of student learning, we are nevertheless encouraged by the fact that our students continue to perform favorably on State English exams and narrow the gap on State math exams when compared to their peers across New York State,” said CSA President Mark Cannizzaro. “We thank and congratulate our hardworking school leaders, teachers, and students for their commitment and continued progress.”

Below are 2018 results by grade and demographic:

Overall Results by Grade:

Overall Results by Demographic:

3.4 percent of New York City students refused to take English exams and 3.9 percent refused to take math. A total of 19,041 students, or 4.4 percent, refused either exam. Last year, 4.0 percent of students refused either exam. Statewide, 18 percent of students refused to test in 2018.

Families are now able to view their students’ scores online via theNYC Schools Account (NYCSA). For information on NYCSA registration, families can visit theNYC Schools Account page. Families can reach out to their parent coordinator for additional support in accessing their students’ scores.

Today’s results demonstrate the City’s progress on the Mayor and Chancellor’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda. Together, the Equity and Excellence for All initiatives are building a pathway to success in college and careers for all students. Our schools are starting earlier – free, full-day, high-quality education for three-year-olds and four-year-olds through 3-K for All and Pre-K for All. They are strengthening foundational skills and instruction earlier – Universal Literacy so that every student is reading on grade level by the end of 2nd grade; and Algebra for All to improve elementary- and middle-school math instruction and ensure that all 8th graders have access to algebra. They are offering students more challenging, hands-on, college and career-aligned coursework – Computer Science for All brings 21st-century computer science instruction to every school, and AP for All will give all high school students access to at least five Advanced Placement courses. Along the way, they are giving students and families additional support through College Access for All, Single Shepherd, and investment in Community Schools. Efforts to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms, including Equity & Excellence for All: Diversity in New York City Public Schools are central to this pathway.

More information on State exam results is available online.