By Anna Gustafson
Queens students made significant strides on state math tests this year, surpassing the average number of students in both the state and city who pass the exams, according to data released by the state Department of Education Monday.
In the borough, an average of 87.2 percent of students in Grades 3 through 8 achieved a level 3, which the state considers meeting standards, or 4, which indicates exceeding standards, on the state math exams. This is up 5.5 percentage points from the 81.7 percent in 2008, according to data released by the state Department of Education Monday.
About 82 percent of city pupils reached a level 3 or 4 this year, compared to the 74 percent who did the same last year. Approximately 86 percent of students statewide attained the same, which is up five percentage points from 2008.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein touted the increase in scores as proof that mayoral control, which the state Legislature is expected to decide whether or not to extend by the end of June, has helped to better education since it was implemented in 2002.
“Our schools have made a remarkable turnaround since 2002, and New York City is now proof that you shouldn’t have to choose between living in a big city and sending your children to excellent public schools,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called the test results “something for all of us to celebrate.”
“These scores are a testament to our highly qualified teachers and the hard work going on every day in our classrooms,” Weingarten said in a statement. “There is evidence that collaboration is essential, an example of what can be achieved by working together with the administration.”
Bloomberg, Klein, and Weingarten also noted the scores show a narrowing of the racial and ethnic achievement gap in the city. Black and Hispanic students’ scores edged closer to their white peers’ by a larger percentage than they have in any other year since 2002.
Black students, on average, scored 17 percentage points lower than their white counterparts, compared to 22.5 percentage points last year. Hispanic students trailed their white counterparts by 13.7 percentage points, compared to 18.8 percentage points in 2008.
State Regents Board Chancellor Merryl Tisch, however, said while “this is, on its face, very positive data,” the news is not “reason to celebrate.”
“Just because scores have gone up dramatically does not mean our young students are ready to go to college,” Tisch said in a press conference Monday. “In our large, urban districts, only about half the students who score a low level 3 in math in eighth−grade will actually graduate from high school, and an enormous number of students who do graduate will need remedial education when they go to college.”
About 74 percent of city public school graduates need remedial education in English and math when they enter the City University of New York, Tisch said.
The Board of Regents, which presides over the state Department of Education, aims to raise standards in defining proficiency, according to Tisch.
Queens students also fared well on the state English Language Arts tests. About 79 percent of borough students reached a level 3 or 4 in 2009, up 8 percentage points from 71 percent last year, according to state data released in mid−May.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e−mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 174.
