New York City students did better on state math and English language arts tests in 2015, the third year of tests aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards. Their teachers steered them through firestorms of controversy over the tests and the curriculum to notch small but significant gains.

The percentage of students in grades 3–8 scoring proficient or above in math rose one percentage point, to 35.2 percent; in ELA, 30.4 percent of students were proficient, a two-point increase that was more than double the statewide improvement rate.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew, in an op-ed on the scores, wrote that the incremental gains “are good news for our schools and children and a much more positive and credible development than the rapid, but ultimately meaningless, increases in scores touted by Michael Bloomberg during his tenure as mayor.”

New York City middle schools did exceptionally well, with 5th-, 6th- and 7th-graders showing the most progress in math while 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders showed substantial gains in ELA [see “New York City results by grade” chart].

Overall, the city moved almost 12,000 students out of Level 1, the lowest of the four scoring levels, this year.

Few in city opt out

Statewide, some 200,000 students — 20 percent of students — opted out of the tests, reflecting widespread parent anger with the Common Core and high-stakes testing. State education officials were criticized for rushing out the tests in 2013 before curriculum aligned with the new standards was available and before test questions had been reviewed.

Far fewer New York City students, however, opted out — just 1.4 percent on the ELA and 1.8 percent on the math — according to the city Department of Education. The city uses the tests to place students in middle and high schools; without scores, students may not qualify for the schools they want.

Starting in 2013, the Common Core has required major shifts in teaching. With little curricula to guide them, teachers had to master the shifts and pull together classroom materials. Many teachers were highly critical of this year’s tests, particularly the ELA. Nevertheless, they prepared students well enough that New York City scores far exceeded the results for other high-needs school districts and came close to matching the statewide averages.

Performance gaps

Performance gaps in New York City remained large, in some cases even larger than in the past [see “New York City results by subgroup”]. More than half of white and Asian students met standards in ELA while less than 20 percent of black and Hispanic students did. The gaps were even wider in math. However, black and Hispanic students made progress in math over 2014, exceeding the gains of white and Asian students.

English language learners scored very low on both tests — just 4.4 percent passed the ELA and 14.6 percent passed the math — but they showed the greatest improvement of any subgroup. Students with disabilities improved only slightly in ELA, edging up to a 6.9 percent passing rate, and declined fractionally in math, with 11.3 percent of students passing the test.

Performance varied widely among New York City charter schools. As a whole, the sector did less well in ELA, with 29.3 percent of students passing the ELA compared with 30.4 percent in neighborhood public schools. The charters did better in math, with 44.2 percent passing, compared with 35.2 percent in neighborhood public schools.