Math scores for New York City students took a nosedive during the pandemic — with only 38% of kids in grades 3-8 being proficient in the subject last school year, according to results of statewide standardized tests released Wednesday.
That’s a dip of nearly 8 percentage points from 2019, before COVID-19 hit, when 46% of students made the grade, the highly-anticipated data put out by the city shows.
Meanwhile, kids in grades 3-5 — who were just learning how to read during the worst of pandemic-era school disruptions — saw a substantial drop in English scores, though results in that subject increased for those in 6th through 8th grade.
As a whole, less than half of 3rd through 8th graders were considered proficient in English last school year, the data shows.
The results offer a first look at how students in the nation’s largest public system are faring in the aftermath of COVID-19 school closures.
“While results are complicated by the pandemic, the results reflect hard work by our students, families and educators during a difficult time,” said First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg in a statement.
“They also reflect opportunity gaps and outcomes in particular for Black and Hispanic students as well as students with disabilities and English-language learners that are unacceptable,” he said.
Weisberg added that the administration’s focus “looking ahead” is for all students to graduate on track for careers, economic security and “a positive force for change.”
Officials suggested remote learning may have had a bigger impact on math scores than reading.
English results for kids in 6th and 7th grade, specifically, saw a big improvement since the last time tests were widely administered in 2019.
But scores of the youngest test takers — 3rd and 4th graders — have plummeted following school closures. English proficiency for 3rd graders dropped by 4 percentage points, while those in 4th grade saw a dip of 6 percentage points from 2019.
Those kids were in the 1st and 2nd grades when classes went remote. Research shows students who do not learn how to read by 3rd grade will struggle to master the basic skill later on.
The last time that a majority of students sat for the state tests, in 2019, more than half of city school kids still couldn’t handle basic math or English, even while scores ticked up slightly. Only 47.4% in grades 3-8 passed the English language arts exams, and 45.6% the math. The English proficiency rate improved 0.7% from the year before and math scores went up by 2.9%.
Roughly 80% of local kids did not take the state exams in the 2020-21 school year, when students who were mostly learning remotely had to opt into the tests. Last school year, more than 10% of all public school kids opted out of one or both tests, though all students had returned to in-person classes.
Statewide results are usually released in August or September, but have been delayed for weeks this year over what the Education Department said was changes to how it compiles the data.
Education officials last week said they were allowing individual districts to publish the results if they so choose.
The statewide data is still under embargo, as education officials finalize the metrics and account for privacy considerations.
“As soon as statewide assessment data is available this fall, the Department will release it,” said spokesperson Emily DeSantis.