Latest New York State English test scores draw criticism from education experts

Fewer than half of all students statewide in grades 3 through 8 who participated in the latest round of state testing scored proficient or above in English, according to a new report from the Department of Education in Albany.

Those results were down from the previous year, prompting some education analysts to speculate that New York was "trending in the wrong direction." Moreover, scores were relatively low on the 2024 math and science assessments. 

The state's preliminary report provided no numerical breakdowns on students tested or absent, nor any average scores for local districts and schools. Results for localities, including Long Island districts, will be released in November, state officials said.

Student success rates on the Island generally run 5 to 10 points higher than state averages.

Key statewide results:

• On English tests, 46% of students participating passed at the proficient level or better in 2024, compared with 48% in 2023. 
• On math tests, 52% of students scored proficient or better in 2024, the same percentage as a year earlier.
• On science tests, 35% of students were rated proficient or better. This year’s results, which covered both grades 5 and 8, can't be compared to last year’s, which included only grade 8.

English and math tests are based on the state’s “Next Generation” academic standards, which replaced the more controversial “Common Core” standards in 2017. The state switched after years of massive test boycotts backed by parents and teachers who contended that the challenging "Common Core" put too much pressure on students and teachers alike.

Teachers were given a bigger role in setting the revamped standards, which were rated as rigorous by outside evaluators. English and math tests based on "Next Generation" were first administered in 2023. 

Critics sound off

Responses from outside experts were largely negative, with some critics asking why English scores had dropped even as New York continued to invest extra money in public education. Since the 2021-22 school year, the state has boosted education aid by more than $6 billion, with much of that concentrated on economically disadvantaged districts.

One conservative commentator, Ken Girardin, described the situation this way in part: “The start of a new school year finds New York’s public education system in a well-funded state of confusion and contradiction: flush with cash amid falling test scores.”

Girardin is research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany-based think tank that focuses much of its attention on costs of state government, municipalities and school districts.

Newsday asked an education department representative about the comments from Girardin and other critics but received no response. 

On the Island, taxpayer advocate Andrea Vecchio said she found herself nodding in agreement as she read the Empire Center critique. 

"This is true," said Vecchio, of East Islip, who has been following reports of low student achievement in some other local districts. "It's very disheartening."

Vecchio is a founding member of Long Islanders for Educational Reform, a regional group concerned about trends both in school spending and testing.

Results announced earlier this year

Under federal law, New York tests students in grades 3-8 annually in both English and math. Fifth-graders and eighth-graders get tested in science as well.

Tests are scored at four levels: 1) below expectations; 2) partly proficient; 3) proficient; and 4) excelling. Students performing at Levels 3 and 4 are grouped in calculating percentages rated proficient or above — in other words, meeting all expectations for their grade level or excelling.

The latest scores, announced Aug. 20, are from assessments conducted in April and May.

In announcing 2024 results, education officials said they were trying to get as much information out to the public “as quickly as possible to improve classroom instruction.” Last year’s results were not announced until December.

EdTrust New York, a state-level advocacy group formerly known as The Education Trust, acknowledged that the state had managed to release some data earlier than in the past, calling that "a small step forward for public transparency."

Some states, including Colorado, Delaware, Florida and Texas, release scores much earlier. New York officials say release times here will gradually speed up as the state moves toward full-scale computerized testing — an effort expected to be completed in spring 2026. 

On the central issue of student achievement, EdTrust concluded that New York's latest report generally reflected "a step backward."

EdTrust, headquartered in Manhattan, focuses on academic achievement among students who are economically disadvantaged or minorities, or both.

One troubling development noted by EdTrust was a statewide drop in third-grade English scores to 43% proficiency in 2024, from 45% in 2023. Analysts said students who struggle with reading in the early grades are at high risk of failure in their later studies. Analysts also voiced concern over a lack of improvement in math scores.

"Taken together, these student outcomes are alarming and are trending in the wrong direction," the organization's executive director, Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, said in a statement.