Only a third of NYC 4th graders deemed ‘proficient’ in math as Big Apple students lag behind state, national averages: test scores
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Two-thirds of New York City fourth graders are not proficient in math and even fewer proved proficient in reading, the “Nation’s Report Card” released Wednesday shows – despite the Empire State funneling more money into its schools than any other state in the nation.
The abysmal results reported in the national exam officially known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress came to light as New York school districts are spending a whopping $89 billion this academic year.
And across the five boroughs, public schools spent an average of $21,112 per student in fiscal year 2023-24, though dozens of schools shelled out a large chunk more – up to $60,000 a student, records show.
Despite the sky-high spending, only 33% of Big Apple fourth graders scored proficient in math and just 28% were proficient in reading last year, according to the results.
Older students’ results were even worse – 23% of city eighth graders were found proficient in math and 29% in reading.
City school kids are lagging behind both state and national averages in math – which stood at 39% and 37% respectively.
“We need to rethink schools from top to the bottom,” Eric Nadelstern, former deputy chancellor under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said about the NAEP results.
Even more troubling is the huge racial gap in test scores within New York City.
Only 16% of black and Hispanic fourth-grade students were proficient in math, compared to 53% of white students and 58% of Asian students, the results show.
“The kids who fell behind the most are the ones who are most marginalized,” Nadelstern said, referring to lower-income black and Hispanic students.
The shockingly low scores are compounded by the fact that New York state spends more money than other states on nearly everything — teachers’ salaries, benefits and pensions, school construction, services for immigrants or non-English speakers and even electrifying school buses, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for the latest scores.
“Kathy Hochul and the broken system she leads are depriving a generation of Black and Latino children of educational opportunity,” Torres told The Post. “The State of New York is spending more and more for less and less.”
“The only beneficiary of the broken system is the bureaucracy,” he added.
The fourth-grade level scores in both math and reading were a slight improvement from the city’s disastrous showing in 2022 when they plummeted to 23% and 26% respectively – which Education Department officials were quick to applaud.
City Department of Education spokesperson Chyann Tull said that the latest NAEP results “underscore the resilience” of Big Apple students and educators navigating the “unprecedented challenges of recent years.”
“Our test scores have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and this stability reflects the extraordinary efforts of our schools to support learning recovery and maintain high standards for all students,” she said – despite pre-pandemic levels being an exceptionally low bar.
In 2019, 32% of NYC fourth graders scored proficient in math.
“We congratulate our students, families, and educators who are outpacing the state in Reading scores and recovering in Math. While there is still so much to be done, we remain committed to building on this foundation and fostering continued growth citywide,” Tull added.