New York City Scores on National Tests Stay Flat

New York City’s scores, like all urban districts, have improved overall since the tests were first administered, though achievement gaps between black and Latino students and their white counterparts remain nearly the same. And the city, like most urban districts, trailed national averages. New York also posted lower scores than New York State as a whole.

New York City’s performance on national math and reading tests for fourth- and eighth-grade students remained relatively flat last year, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

Federal officials on Wednesday released scores for 21 urban school districts. Compared to other large cities, New York City posted average scores on the math exams for both grades and for the reading tests in eighth grade. New York City showed slightly above average scores in fourth-grade reading.

“Anyone interested in the state of our nation’s education should start by looking at progress in these urban districts, which face a concentration of the challenges all schools grapple with to some degree,” said David P. Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. “By volunteering to be part of TUDA, these districts gain insights and data they can use to focus their academic efforts.”

The National Center for Education Statistics began administering both math and reading tests in 2003 every two years to a representative sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students.

Here's how the New York City scores shake out, on a scale of zero to 500:

• Fourth-grade math: The average score was 236 in 2013, compared to 234 in 2011. The difference in scores is not considered statistically significant.
• Eighth-grade math: The average score was 274 in 2013, compared to 272 in 2011. The difference in scores is not considered statistically significant.
• Fourth-grade reading: The average score was 216 in 2013, and was also 216 in 2011.
• Eighth-grade reading:The average scores was 256 in 2013, compared to 254 in 2011. The different in scores is not considered statistically significant.

Trial Urban District Assessment

NAEP ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL DESCRIPTION EXCERPTS 

Full descriptions of the achievement levels can be found in the 2013 NAEP Mathematics and Reading Frameworks on the Governing Board site. 

NAEP Reading – Grade 4
Basic: Students should be able to locate relevant information, make simple inferences, and use their understanding of the text to identify details that support a given interpretation or conclusion. For example, students should be able to make simple inferences about characters, events, plot, and setting in literary texts such as fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction. When reading informational texts such as articles and excerpts from books, students should be able to identify the main purpose and an explicitly stated main idea.
Proficient: Students should be able to integrate and interpret texts and apply their understanding of the text to draw conclusions and make evaluations. In reading literary texts, this includes judging elements of the author’s craft and providing support for their judgment; for informational texts, this includes locating relevant information, integrating information across texts, and evaluating the way an author presents information.
Advanced: Students should be able to make complex inferences and construct and support their inferential understanding of the text. Students should also be able to apply their understanding of a text to make and support a judgment. For literary texts, this includes recognizing characters’ perspectives and evaluating character motivation. For informational texts, this includes identifying the most likely cause given an effect, explaining an author’s point of view, and comparing ideas across two texts. 

Urban district results are in!
What states are making gains?