More New York students are scoring proficient in English and math, according to new data released by the Empire Center—but questions remain about whether the gains reflect real improvement or changes to testing standards.
Preliminary numbers show 57% of students in grades 3–8 were proficient in math and 53% in English Language Arts (ELA), up from 54% and 46% the year before.
Out of nearly 712 school districts statewide, 471 improved in math and 634 in ELA. That’s a jump from last year, when only 413 districts saw math gains and just 296 improved in ELA.
Still, the Empire Center cautioned against reading too much into the scores without more clarity from the state education department. “We would love to celebrate this increase in scores,” said Empire Center President Zilvinas Silenas, “however, the New York State Department of Education needs to dispel doubts” about whether this is real progress or a redefinition of proficiency.
Across 3,712 schools, only 89 reached the 90th percentile in ELA and 150 in math. Just two schools—Icahn Charter School 1 and Special Music School—achieved 100% proficiency in both subjects.
Within New York City, District 2 in lower Manhattan led the state in ELA at 78%, while District 20 in Brooklyn had the top math score at 73%. Some of the lowest scores came from District 12 in the Bronx (ELA 37%) and District 24 in Queens (Math 35%).
Outside NYC, the disparities continued. In Rochester, only 19% of students were proficient in ELA and 15% in math. Buffalo, Albany, Yonkers, and Syracuse also reported significantly lower scores than the state average.
At the top, Quogue Union Free School District on Long Island saw 94% proficiency in both ELA and math. Nearby Fire Island UFSD, despite spending nearly $150,000 per student, had just 48% proficiency in ELA and 57% in math for its 21 tested students.
The Empire Center’s full database of scores, going back to 2014, is available on their website for public access.
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