In a few weeks, New York City public school students will be taking the statewide English and math exams. Faced with the more rigorous common core standards, fewer numbers of children have scored at levels deemed “proficient” over the past two years. It’s likely the trends will continue for the 2015 tests as well. We’ve crossed this path before.

During his re-election campaign for a second term, education mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed, “The hard work going on in our schools is really paying off.” Test scores validated his reforms, including mayoral control of schools, reliance on metrics to track progress, and incentives given to schools and teachers for better scores.

Indeed, data demonstrated that from 2006 to 2009, the numbers of children achieving a level 3 — deemed “proficient” — were steadily increasing. The numbers at level 4 were growing too, but the big news was how many students previously at levels 1 and 2 were now passing. For example, in 2006, just 46 percent of seventh-grade students passed the math exam; by 2009 that figure had increased to 84 percent. In total numbers of students, 56,000 of the roughly 70,000 seventh-graders (compared with just 32,000 kids in 2006) were now considered proficient — certainly a huge success.

 

Unfortunately the numbers didn’t correspond with other measures such as results on national exams or Regents tests. So the state recalibrated the scoring; in order to pass, students needed to have more correct answers. The 2010 scores reflected the tougher standard. In every district and borough, the gains were reversed. On the seventh-grade math exams, about 54 percent were passing: more than 20,000 more students were now considered failing.

Our data shows the steady increase of students passing at level 3 between 2006 to 2009 and then — after the new standard was applied — a shifting of kids at level 3 to the failing levels 1 and 2. Of note, the chart also shows that the numbers of students scoring at the highest level 4 are increasing. As scores have traditionally been tied to demographic and socioeconomic indicators, this may reflect a trend of wealthier families — those presumably with the means to support or provide tutors for their kids — choosing to raise their children in the city. For these high scorers, the tougher standard wasn’t making a difference perhaps because the exam tests for a “basic” level of proficiency.