{"id":318606,"date":"2026-08-11T13:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/318606\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T13:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T13:36:22","slug":"sharp-drop-in-nyc-schools-reading-tests-leaves-some-questioning-results-of-state-exams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/318606\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharp drop in NYC schools\u2019 reading tests leaves some questioning results of state exams"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sharp drop<\/a> in literacy scores among New York City students on state tests has landed like a bombshell in the education world, prompting some to question the exams’ accuracy.<\/p>\n

The stakes surrounding the data are high. Half of New York City students in grades 3 through 8 did not read at grade level. Meanwhile, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is continuing a costly and complex process of transitioning the entire school system over to a set of curricula that experts say should improve students\u2019 reading comprehension.<\/p>\n

State tests are a key metric educators use to assess progress, including whether the reforms are working. But now some advocates are starting to doubt the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re calling for an independent audit so that we can see what is happening in particular with the [English Language Arts] exam over the last three years that might explain why there’s such a dramatic increase in one year, then a dramatic decrease the next year,\u201d said Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, executive director of EdTrust-New York.<\/p>\n

Benjamin-Gomez was among the many education observers scratching their heads over the data.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s six-point drop nearly erased a seven-point gain last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very strange to see these huge swings year to year,\u201d said Sarah Part, senior policy analyst at Advocates for Children New York. \u201cIt\u2019s a legitimate concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

The swings became even more stark when delving into categories within the data.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s third and fifth graders saw a 13 percentage-point decline citywide, while fourth graders\u2019 scores went down just under six points.<\/p>\n

In District 16 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, proficiency increased in all the even-numbered grades but decreased in the odd-numbered grades. Seventh graders\u2019 scores declined by 10 percentage points, while eighth graders\u2019 scores went up eight points.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pallas, professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, called the results \u201cpuzzling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s irregular results reflected statewide patterns. Across the state, proficiency declined five points in 3rd through 8th grades, with wider 11-point drops in 3rd and 5th grade, compared to a six-point drop in 4th grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s something specific to the state test right now,\u201d Benjamin-Gomez said. \u201cYou don’t normally see these wild swings, and so that calls us to question these specific exams.\u201d<\/p>\n

State education officials said the tests already go through regular audits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not minimize or attempt to explain away what the data tell us,\u201d state education department spokesperson J.P. O\u2019Hare said in a statement that accompanied the release of the new data. \u201cThe Department takes this decline seriously and will conduct a detailed analysis to better understand where students are experiencing challenges, which student groups and communities have been most affected, and where additional support and resources are needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education observers noted that this was the first year third graders were required to take the test on a computer, as their older peers.<\/p>\n

Benjamin-Gomez wondered if there was a problem with the scoring or how the state determined proficiency on recent tests.<\/p>\n

Mamdani administration officials acknowledged the \u201cdramatic swings\u201d and pledged to dig into the data, but said they were committed to continuing the literacy reforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the nation, we\u2019ve seen transformative literacy rates using the pedagogy we know works, and we will continue to pursue that same approach,\u201d Mamdani said in a release. \u201cAs we review these initial statewide results and what they mean for our students, we will focus on better understanding the scoring process to use this data with confidence and make the best decisions for our students.”<\/p>\n

The woeful proficiency rates have bedeviled successive mayoral administrations. Mayor Eric Adams staked his education agenda on improving literacy and initiated reforms dubbed \u201cNYC Reads.\u201d The move put the nation\u2019s largest school system at the forefront of a national movement to rethink how reading is taught.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has vowed to continue the effort.<\/p>\n

Education department officials said literacy screeners \u2014 reading assessments administered by teachers at the start of the school year \u2014 show incremental progress, with proficiency increasing by almost 3 points since 2024. But that supposed progress raises questions about why proficiency dropped so dramatically on the state tests.<\/p>\n

The perplexing results come amid complaints from parents and educators that the new curriculum is overly rigid and boring<\/a>, emphasizing skill-and-drill busywork over a love of reading.<\/p>\n

The United Federation of Teachers did not directly address the test scores in a statement, but said that in the past school year the city had \u201cpiled on\u201d too many requirements and assessments as part of the curricular changes.<\/p>\n

Advocates said it\u2019s important to continue the reforms, despite the results.<\/p>\n

Benjamin-Gomez of EdTrust said her organization has seen \u201csteady growth,\u201d and so has she as a parent. \u201cAs a parent of New York City Public Schools students, I have seen them personally benefit from the NYC Reads initiatives,\u201d Benjamin-Gomez said.<\/p>\n

Advocates for Children New York\u2019s executive director Maria Odom said the results \u201craise more questions than answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is clear is that the work is far from done,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are no silver bullets in education and true change does not happen overnight; when the City committed to overhauling literacy instruction, we knew it would be a multi-year effort requiring a sustained investment of resources and political will.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A sharp drop in literacy scores among New York City students on state tests has landed like a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-318606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}