New York State Test Results Are In

New York State student test results are in. As expected, they've dropped from last year. Only 29.6% of New York City's third through eight graders scored high enough to be considered proficient in math, and 26.4% did so in English. Last year those numbers were 65 and 55, respectively. 

 

The drop is attributed to a harder test, called the Common Core. It calls for more critical thinking, which advocates say helps better prepare students for college and careers. 

 

Some parents, like Zakayah Ansari, said the test was too hard for kids.

 

"This year my eighth grader sat at the side of my bed at the beginning of the ELA test, stressed with his hands in his head at six o'clock in the morning - not excited to go to school, but worried about if he was going to pass this test," Ansari recalls.

 

Mayor Bloomberg responded to critics who said there's too much focus on testing,"The group that would be the most badly hurt if you stopped testing would be the students, because then the teachers are just flying blind. You have to test."

 

The mayor stressed that students and teaches won't be penalized for a drop in scores this year. He also pointed out that New York City performed much higher than cities like Yonkers and Buffalo, and was nearly on track with the rest of the state.