Latest news with #DavidBloomfield
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NYC students score far below state, national averages on SAT, marking some of the lowest scores in years
New York City students scored far below the rest of the state and country on the SAT — producing the lowest average scores in at least seven years, troubling new data show. Public school students in the Big Apple scored an average 473 on the math portion of last year's standardized test, which is widely used for college admissions in the US. It was a whopping 71 points below the average for the rest of New York, and 32 points below that of the rest of the country. Reading and writing scores remained flat, with NYC students averaging 482, the same as 2023 — but the rest of the state and country again far outperformed the city, with average scores of 553 and 519, respectively. The math, reading and writing portions of the test are each scored out of 800, making the highest possible score a 1600. 'It's another wake up call for New York City Public Schools to concentrate on improved instruction in core subjects,' remarked David Bloomfield, an educator professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. The Big Apple's SAT flop continued a steady decline that began in 2022 and marked the lowest average cores in at least seven years, according to data released by the city Department of Education Friday. The tests are typically administered from August through June. A school-by-school or borough breakdown was not immediately available. Bloomfield was shocked by an especially wide gap between Asian and white test takers compared to Black and Hispanics. Performance among each demographic on the math portion dropped in NYC compared to 2023. Asian students scored an average 582, down four points from the year before, and white students averaged a 536, down eight points from the year prior. But Hispanic students scored an average of 430 on the math section — more than 100 points less than their white counterparts and five points less than they did the year before. Black students scored an average of 426, down two points from 2023, and 118 points lower than the rest of the state's average. Nationally, math scores dropped by three points, and statewide, they ticked down one point. Asian kids in NYC did better in reading and writing compared to last year, however, while white students dropped from on average of 555 to 549. Black students' reading and writing average went up slightly, from 446 to 449, while Hispanic kids' average dropped 1 point to 445. Across the country, the reading and writing average dropped one point, while the rest of New York, not including the city, increased by one point. 'These results are a reminder that we need to keep expanding access to academic support — especially for students who haven't traditionally had it,' said Frances Kweller, director of the Manhattan- and Queens-based tutoring company Kweller Prep. 'The population of students in New York City compared to the rest of the state, compared to the rest of the country, is poorer and has more kids of color, more special ed kids and more immigrants who whose native language is other than English,' said Eric Nadelstern, who was the deputy chancellor for instruction at the DOE under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told The Post. 'Those are the factors that I think account for the disparity in SAT scores,' he added, noting also that students who took the test last year were starting high school when COVID-19 lockdowns hit. NYC students' participation in the exam dropped from 71.5% of graduating students taking the exam in 2023 to 70.9% last year. The only demographic whose participation increased were Asians. The College Board, which administers the SAT, transitioned the test to a fully digital format in the spring of 2024. Many colleges stopped requiring SAT and ACT scores during the pandemic, but have recently reversed course. 'Colleges are moving back to 'test required' precisely because they have seen a direct correlation between SAT and ACT performance and college readiness and success,' said Linda Quarles, a Brooklyn Tech parent and vice president of the Citywide Council on High Schools. Leo Niyazov, an 11th-grader at Brooklyn Technical High School and student at Kweller Prep, knows preparing for the SAT will up his chances of getting into West Point. 'Even though many colleges are test-optional now, West Point still requires the SAT … A strong SAT score helps strengthen my whole application,' he said. Avish Jain, another Brooklyn Tech 11th-grader, is doing test prep in the hopes that his SAT score helps him get into college on scholarship. 'I wish more support was available in schools,' he said. The DOE did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
New York Post
10-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
NYC students scores far below state, national SAT averages
New York City students scored far below the rest of the state and country on the SAT — producing the lowest average scores in at least seven years, troubling new data show. Public school students in the Big Apple scored an average 473 on the math portion of last year's standardized test, which is widely used for college admissions in the US. It was a whopping 71 points below the average for the rest of New York, and 32 points below that of the rest of the country. Reading and writing scores remained flat, with NYC students averaging 482, the same as 2023 — but the rest of the state and country again far outperformed the city, with average scores of 553 and 519, respectively. 6 NYC public school students scored an average 473 on the standardized test, 71 points below the average for the rest of New York, and 32 points below that of the rest of the country. nyced The math and reading and writing portions of the test are each scored out of 800, making the highest possible score a 1600. 'It's another wake up call for New York City Public Schools to concentrate on improved instruction in core subjects,' remarked David Bloomfield, an educator professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. The Big Apple's SAT flop continued a steady decline that began in 2022 and marked the lowest average cores in at least seven years, according to data released by the city Department of Education Friday. 6 NYC students' participation in the exam dropped from 71.5% of graduating students taking the exam in 2023 to 70.9% last year. nyced The tests are typically administered from August through June. A school-by-school or borough breakdown was not immediately available. Bloomfield was shocked by an especially wide gap between Asian and white test takers compared to Black and Hispanics. Performance among each demographic on the math portion dropped in NYC compared to 2023. Asian students scored an average 582, down four points from the year before, and white students averaged a 536, down eight points from the year prior. 6 Nationally, SAT math scores dropped by three points, and statewide, they ticked down one point. panitan – But Hispanic students scored an average of 430 on the math section — more than 100 points less than their white counterparts and five points less than they did the year before. Black students scored an average of 426, down two points from 2023, and 118 points lower than the rest of the state's average. Nationally, math scores dropped by three points, and statewide, they ticked down one point. Asian kids in NYC did better in reading and writing compared to last year, however, while white students dropped from on average of 555 to 549. Black students' reading and writing average went up slightly, from 446 to 449, while Hispanic kids' average dropped 1 point to 445. 6 Celine Bach, a 10th grader at the Trinity School, attends test prep at Kweller. Courtesy of Frances Kweller Across the country, the reading and writing average dropped one point, while the rest of New York, not including the city, increased by one point. 'These results are a reminder that we need to keep expanding access to academic support — especially for students who haven't traditionally had it,' said Frances Kweller, director of the Manhattan- and Queens-based tutoring company Kweller Prep. 'The population of students in New York City compared to the rest of the state, compared to the rest of the country, is poorer and has more kids of color, more special ed kids and more immigrants who whose native language is other than English,' said Eric Nadelstern, who was the deputy chancellor for instruction at the DOE under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told The Post. 6 Leo Niyazov, an 11th-grader at Brooklyn Technical High School, attending an SAT prep course. Courtesy of Frances Kweller 'Those are the factors that I think account for the disparity in SAT scores,' he added, noting also that students who took the test last year were starting high school when COVID-19 lockdowns hit. NYC students' participation in the exam dropped from 71.5% of graduating students taking the exam in 2023 to 70.9% last year. The only demographic whose participation increased were Asians. The College Board, which administers the SAT, transitioned the test to a fully digital format in the spring of 2024. 6 The College Board transitioned the SAT to a fully digital format in the spring of 2024. Christopher Sadowski Many colleges stopped requiring SAT and ACT scores during the pandemic, but have recently reversed course. 'Colleges are moving back to 'test required' precisely because they have seen a direct correlation between SAT and ACT performance and college readiness and success,' said Linda Quarles, a Brooklyn Tech parent and vice president of the Citywide Council on High Schools. The DOE did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The $40 Billion Issue the N.Y.C. Mayoral Candidates Aren't Discussing
For decades, politicians have cast education as a great equalizer and cornerstone of a thriving society. But in New York City's competitive mayoral race, it is attracting scant attention. With less than nine weeks until the Democratic primary, none of the major candidates has released a plan centered solely on elementary and secondary education. Across their campaign pages highlighting big issues, the contenders each spend an average of about 75 words talking about education, and 'pandemic' is rarely among those words, even though that health cataclysm still exacts a toll on younger generations. In a city notorious for its divide between opulence and poverty, public education represents both a potential engine of social mobility and one of the biggest ways that local government reaches the everyday lives of New Yorkers. The school system is charged with educating more students than the entire population of San Francisco, preparing them for college or the work force. The city's Education Department, with more than 130,000 staff members, is among the region's top employers. Its $40 billion budget is an unrivaled chunk of spending, exceeding that of the police, fire and health departments combined. But there is little to suggest how the major Democratic candidates for mayor would address the city's middling academic performance, despite the latest results of a gold-standard federal exam that revealed alarming declines in reading and math skills among the city's lowest-performing children. Most candidates have not offered a robust plan to tackle chronic absenteeism after more than a third of students missed at least 10 percent of school days during the last academic year. Their platforms often fail to address the desperate need for more bilingual staff in schools, even though enrollment of children still learning English is ballooning. And in a district with student outcomes sharply divided along income and racial lines, desegregation — or any other means of large-scale school improvement — does not appear to be on politicians' minds. Education experts said the absence of bold ideas was especially striking in New York, one of fewer than a dozen major U.S. cities in which the mayor retains full control over the school system — and a place with a deep tradition of driving national conversations about education. 'The fact that it's now become a footnote is shocking in terms of the time, expense and effort that we put into public education,' said David Bloomfield, an education law and policy professor at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. Many of the mayoral candidates have emphasized alleviating a major housing shortage, lowering the soaring costs of raising families and expanding access to free child care. The city's affordability crisis has pushed many parents to move, especially Black families. The lack of focus on the nuts and bolts of teaching and learning in New York reflects a national political shift, in which fewer Democrats — once trailblazers on classroom matters — have elevated elementary and secondary education as a priority compared with the 2000s and early 2010s. Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist who studies education policy, said that 'improving student outcomes has long been a progressive goal,' pointing to the 1960s, when the creation of federal funding for schools with low-income students was a centerpiece of President Lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty. But in the past decade, Mr. Kane added, voters have split into polarized factions over hot-button subjects such as charter schools, standardized testing and admission to gifted and talented classes for elementary students. In the process, Mr. Kane said, 'a lot of Democrats have become uncomfortable talking about student achievement.' Many of the New York City mayoral candidates have promised to invest in school-based social services, reduce class sizes or expand programs that introduce teenagers to real-world careers. Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor, declares in his platform that after public safety, City Hall has 'no higher calling' than education. Two candidates — State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Scott Stringer, the former comptroller — point to research showing that their child care proposals, which include expanding after-school programs and extending the school day, could boost academic performance and attendance. But few have put forth comprehensive plans for students from kindergarten through high school. Several education experts said that history has shown that piecemeal reforms often fail to produce major change. Outside the classroom, young people face troubles that have gone largely unaddressed, including a pervasive mental health crisis. Nine percent of high schoolers in New York reported attempting suicide in 2021. Marielys Divanne, the executive director of Educators for Excellence-New York, a teachers' group, said in an interview that she helped organize a political forum on literacy this month in part because of how little attention was being devoted to education. 'We were not getting the public discourse that we felt we needed,' said Ms. Divanne, whose group has pressed candidates to commit to building upon Mayor Eric Adams's efforts to overhaul reading and math instruction. 'There's a lot at stake, and ignoring that is a missed opportunity,' Ms. Divanne said. At the literacy forum, candidates were each given two minutes to share their vision for the school system. Mayor Adams and Mr. Cuomo were invited but did not attend. Spokesmen for their campaigns did not respond to requests for comment. Curtis Sliwa, a Republican candidate for mayor, was also invited to the forum but did not attend. Zohran Mamdani, the progressive state assemblyman who has been rising in polls and whose platform does not yet discuss K-12 education, pledged to increase funding for schools and libraries. Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker and a late entrant in the race, promised to push local colleges to ensure that aspiring educators are better trained to teach reading. Mr. Stringer said he would provide more children with access to tutors. And Brad Lander, the city comptroller, said he wants to evaluate schools not solely on academics but also by other measures of student well-being and success. Still, Mr. Lander acknowledged, 'We're not spending anywhere near enough time in this race talking about New York City's public schools.' It wasn't always like this. Education was a centerpiece of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's legacy as he shuttered low-performing schools, embraced charters and sought to toughen teacher evaluations. A decade later, Mayor Bill de Blasio's creation of a free preschool program for all 4-year-olds — meant to provide children another year of rigorous early education — became a national model. He also bet big on a plan to improve the city's lowest-performing schools, which ended without producing substantial achievement gains. Mayor Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent, brought new reading curriculum into elementary and middle schools, though he has not fulfilled a campaign promise to ensure that all students with dyslexia are better identified and taught. Jorge Elorza, the chief executive officer of Democrats for Education Reform, an advocacy group, said that Democrats' failure to embrace education as a primary issue adds to the 'narrative from the last election that the Democrats have lost touch' with blue-collar and low-income voters. 'The working class cares disproportionately about education,' said Mr. Elorza, whose organization was co-founded by Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund executive who is running for mayor. 'Education is the ticket to a better life.' Some powerful politicians have signaled that the failure to address education could affect their endorsements. Representative Adriano Espaillat, an influential Dominican American lawmaker, said at the literacy forum that school issues deserved a greater spotlight: 'It's important to elect a mayor that will put education first.' Many experts speculated that Democrats in cities including New York are making a political calculation. Voters rarely rank education among the issues that matter most in local, state and national elections. In New York, efforts to transform the school district often spark public outcry, such as when the city recently tried to overhaul admissions at its most prestigious high schools. Jeffrey Henig, a professor emeritus of political science and education at Teachers College at Columbia University, said campaigns might see a choice between standing out in a crowded field and steering clear of third rails that 'could blow you off at the knees.' 'Right now,' Mr. Henig added, 'the story is avoiding trip wires.'
