Comments on: Report: Test score gains predate Bloomberg and mayoral control

By: wendy quick

wendy quick — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:16:54 +0000

i have done an appeal for my eigth grader so that she can be placed in the ninth grade, nothing has happen she is still in the eight grade, I need someone to tell me what did the city used to score the test that the kids were given over the Summer, and is 680 a level one for math.

By: “Redemption” – Gotham Schoools column « David C. Bloomfield

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:57:00 +0000

[...] Analyses prepared for Assemblyman James Brennan by legislative aide Shawn Campbell demonstrate that the Bloomberg administration grossly overstates the impact that the reforms have had on New York City’s student achievement. State test scores are tainted by the exams’ designed-in flaws. Progress Reports’ school grades are malleable, rising or falling according to administration convenience. Graduation rates are untethered from college and career readiness. They are the end result of suspect strategies called “credit accumulation” and “knowledge management,” not subject mastery and understanding. [...]

By: eduwonkette

eduwonkette — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:22:22 +0000

Embedded in this memo is an artful example of how to lie with statistics.

Andy Jacob writes that, “The largest one year increase in 4th grade reading scores came under mayoral control, when scores rose 9.9 points between 2003-04 and 2004-05″ and “The two largest one-year increases in 8th grade reading scores came under mayoral control. Scores rose 3.9 points between 2004-05 and 2005-06 and 7.6 points between 2005-06 and 2006-07.”

But these were precisely the years that there were large declines in the number of kids taking the test in New York City because of ELL testing rules. For example, in 4th grade there was an 8.2% decline in the number of test takers between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 (73446 to 67449). Is it surprising that we saw large one year increases in test scores?

In 8th grade there was a 3% decline in the number of test takers between 2004-05 and 2005-06 (72945 to 70758). The number of 8th grade test takers didn’t decline between 2005-06 to 2006-07, though this was the year that 8th grade scores rose sharply across the entire state. That year, the average state ELA scale score rose by 5 points, while the average NYC scale score rose by a smaller increment – 4.4 points.

By: ceolaf

ceolaf — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:29:30 +0000

Elizabeth,

Nice job of explaining the importance of picking the right baseline, and the issues around this particular decision.

By: Pogue

Pogue — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:20:40 +0000

Methinks I hear DOE propaganda BS, again. Choice is offering NYC kids many occupational and interesting elective classes to complement their academic subjects. Bloomberg, Klein, and Weingarten do not offer choice. They offer strongarm tactics to divide the children, parents, and teachers of NYC.

By: Abby

Abby — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:15:13 +0000

Since Mayor Bloomberg took control and responsibility for NYC schools, parents have more choices than ever when it comes to picking the right school for their child, and student test scores and graduation rates have increased considerably. Student performance, not school boards, have become the barometer for success. Additionally, states across the country and our federal government are acknowledging the progress made under Mayoral Control and using it as an example of a successful way to improve our national education system.