Test Scores

The report looks at year-to-year gains on the state's reading and math tests. A moremeaningful indicator is how the city's gains compare to those of the rest of the state.Since all students in the state take the same tests, this controls for any changes in thetest from year to year.

The gap between New York City and the rest of the state on these tests has closedmore under mayoral control than it did before mayoral control, by a substantialmargin.

This is true in both 4th and 8th grade - the only two grades where we can makelong-term comparisons - in both reading and math.Data on this is below. We believe 2002 is the correct baseline, because the mayor andthe chancellor ran the school system for the entire 2002-03 school year and made someimportant changes that year. That said, the results are impressive even if you use 2003as the baseline (again, see the data below). And don't forget about the graduation rate.It's risen 11 points since 2002. In the entire decade before 2002, it rose a tenth of apoint.

Causes

We agree with Assemblyman Brennan about the importance of early-childhoodeducation, which is why we're continuing to expand access to pre-kindergarten. We alsoagree about the importance of intervention services, which is why we've created morerigorous summer school programs and extended the school day to provide extra help tostruggling students.But this report ignores many of the most important causes of the gains we've madeunder mayoral control. We've opened hundreds of new schools to give parents morechoices. We've cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the bureaucracy and empoweredour principals to spend them in the ways that will best help their students. Mostimportantly, we're holding every school accountable for helping all their students makeacademic progress.

DataGap Between NYC and Rest of State on Reading and Math Tests, 2002-2008

4th grade math

2002-2008: The gap closed 18 points.1999-2002: The gap closed 2.8 points.

8th grade math

2002-2008: The gap closed 11.7 points.1999-2002: The gap

increased

4.4 points.

4th grade reading

2002-2008: The gap closed 8.4 points.1999-2002: The gap closed 2.1 points.

8th grade reading