Lower East Side, East Village See Rise in English Scores, Decline in Math

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña were excited to tout "substantial" gains on state English and math exams Monday morning. And while English scores in District 1 — encompassing the Lower East Side and East Village — are included among the rising scores, math testing was actually slightly down.

District 1 English scores for Grades 3-7 were all up compared to last year, though Grade 8 was down. Still, across all grades, 42.1 percent of students scored either Level 3 or 4 — the highest categories. That was an increase from 38.3 percent one year ago. And it's a massive increase of 9.4 percent from four years ago, when just 32.7 percent of students scored Level 3 or 4.

The math numbers were not as promising for District 1. The numbers have stalled over the past few years, with 2016's scores declining for the first time in four years. Forty-two percent of students scored either Level 3 or 4 in 2016, whereas 42.2 percent did in 2015. Declines were most noticeable among fifth graders and eighth graders, where each dropped nearly 4 percent from a year ago.

Math scores are still starkly low for black and Hispanic students, however. While 72.4 percent of white students and 78.6 percent of Asian students in District 1 scored at Level 3 or 4, just 17.8 percent of black students and 22.3 percent of Hispanic students did. Black students achieved Level 3 or 4 at 2 percent fewer than last year.

The numbers were just as widely spaced on English scores, where 72.4 percent of white students and 65.5 percent of Asian students scored at the top-two levels, but just 23 percent of black students and 25.3 percent of Hispanic students met Level 3 or 4. Those looking for a bright side will note both black and Hispanic students reaching Level 3 or 4 are up about 4 percent.

City-wide, de Blasio touted grades being up in all 32 school districts.

“Our public schools are a cornerstone of New York City,” de Blasio said in a statement. “These results represent important progress and outline real improvements across each borough of our City. We congratulate our students, families and devoted educators for this critical step forward. We remain focused on building on these gains and others — such as the highest-ever high school graduation rate — to deliver equity and excellence for every public school student across the City, no matter their zip code.”

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