State education officials will drop a bomb on thousands of city kids
and parents Wednesday when they release scores from the controversial
and tougher reading and math exams.
State Education Commissioner John King sounded the alarm for disastrous
results with a letter sent to principals Friday afternoon.
“Scores are expected to be significantly lower than the 2011-’12
scores,” he wrote, adding that principals should use the scores
“judiciously” when making decisions about whether to fire teachers.
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The state test scores are used in decisions to promote students, award
bonuses to principals and fire teachers. This year, for the first time, the tests were tied to national standards known as Common Core.
City and state Education officials have predicted for months that
scores would fall by about one-third on the tougher tests — in part
because city
schools have not yet received a curriculum aligned to the new standards.
But city
Education Department sources said Friday that the drop could be even worse than expected.
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“People are freaking out at Tweed,” said the agency official, who asked
to remain anonymous. “They’re trying to find a way to spin the scores
so it doesn’t look so bad.”
The teachers union released a report Friday predicting just how steep the drop would be.
According to the report, the percentage of elementary school
students
who meet standards will decrease by 19 points in reading and by 28
points in math. The middle-school grades will drop 14 points in reading
and 22 points in math.
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The results are expected to be significantly worse for black and Latino students.
New York is one of several states that rolled out new, more rigorous
math and reading tests this year for grades three to eight to better
prepare kids for college and careers. About 450,000 students in the city
took the exams in April.
“Tests have gotten tougher and scores will reflect that,” said Lauren Passalacqua, a spokeswoman for
Mayor Bloomberg. “But this is a transition that absolutely must take place.”
But teachers union president Michael Mulgrew ripped the looming, gloomy
results as more evidence of Bloomberg’s failed education legacy.
“Education was always a numbers game to Mayor Bloomberg, but the
numbers are turning against him,” said Mulgrew. “He never understood
that real learning means more than endless test prep, and kids and
schools are paying the price for his failed policies.”
clestch@nydailynews.com
