Reading scores of New York City public school students plummeted this past school year, erasing improvements in the subject recorded a year before, sparking calls from the teachers’ union for a change in approach.
Data released Friday showed that just half, 50.3 percent, of all students in grades 3 through 8 scored as proficient in English Language Arts — a drop from about 56% the year before. Alarmingly, scores for the youngest students, third graders, in particular, dropped 14 points, with just 44% scoring proficient in the subject.
About 57% of the students scored proficient in math, only a 0.1% increase from the year before.
The dramatic downswing comes as the city’s public schools are still in the process of overhauling how they teach reading. In 2023, NYCPS launched NYC Reads, which it called a “research-centered, phonics-based approach to literacy instruction.”
“Our goal remains universal literacy, and we are staying the course with NYC Reads and the science of reading,” Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said in a statement.
“Our educators also rely on nationally normed screeners to understand students’ progress, tailor instruction and provide additional support where it’s needed. These results raise important questions and deserve careful, rigorous analysis so we can ensure we’re measuring what students are learning.”
Officials said they have begun a “deeper analysis” of the fluctuations.
Only about half of all students in grades 3 through 8 scored as proficient in English Language Arts— a drop from about 56% scoring proficient the year before. (Shutterstock)
But Mary Vaccaro, United Federation of Teachers vice president for education, said the city should not continue with the curriculum changes that have been implemented.
“We have to refocus on what we know works in literacy — a clear plan, a tailored science of reading curriculum, and meaningful professional development for educators. That recipe yields results,” Vaccaro said in a statement.
“This past school year, the system abandoned that approach,” she continued, “and, with no real plan in place, simply piled on additional programs, assessments, consultants’ recommendations and curriculum in the hopes that ‘more’ would equal better, and we lost ground.”
Mayor Mamdani defended the school system’s approach.
“NYC Reads marked a turning point in our commitment to ensuring every child gets the evidence-based instruction they deserve,” Mamdani said. “Across the nation, we’ve seen transformative literacy rates using the pedagogy we know works, and we will continue to pursue that same approach. As 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.”
Maria Odom, executive director of Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), said the new data raises “more questions than answers.”
“What is clear is that the work is far from done — with only around half of students reading proficiently and glaring disparities between student subgroups,” Odom said. “There are no silver bullets in education and true change does not happen overnight.”