New York State Education Department today released the results of the April 2012 grade 3-8 math and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments, showing that students in New York City improved by about three percentage points: 46.9 percent of city students met or exceeded the reading (ELA) standard (up from 43.9 percent last year), and 60 percent met or exceeded the math standard (up from 57.3 percent last year). The gap in performance between black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian peers persists although all groups posted slight improvements.

Scores, and keys to interpreting test results are on the State Education website, but parents will have to wait to see their own child’s results, which the DOE says will be posted the week of July 30 in ARIS. Watch for the announcement.

According to the state Education Department, the average scale scores on this year’s exams in both ELA and math are slightly higher than 2011 in most grades, and there is a small increase in the percentage of students across the state who met or exceeded the standard on both exams, meaning they scored a 3 or 4 on a four-point scale. 

Statewide, 55 percent of  students met or exceeded the reading standard (an increase from 52.8 percent last year); 64.8 percent met or exceeded the standard in math (up from 63.3 last year).

Gaps in achievement persist, but according to the New York City DOE, some progress is being made:

--46.1 percent of black students met the proficiency standards in math, up 1.9 points from 44.2 percent in 2011. In reading, the percentage of proficient black students increased from 34.8 to 37 percent.

--Hispanic students showed similar improvement, with 52.3 percent of students meeting proficiency standards in math, up from 49.2 from last year. In reading, Hispanic student proficiency grew from 34.7 to 37.5 percent.

--White students, Asian students, English Language Learners and students with disabilities all made gains in math, and all groups with the exception of English Language Learners made gains in English.

Statewide:

--37.2 percent of African-American students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard (compared with 55.1 percent for all students and 66.4 percent for white students); 46.1% met or exceeded the standard in math (compared with 64.8 percent for all students and 74 percent for white students).

--40 percent of Hispanic students in grades met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard (compared with 55.1 percent for all students and 66.4 percent for white students); 53.1 percent met or exceeded the standard in math (compared with 64.8 percent for all students and 74 percent for white students).

 --11.7 percent of English Language Learners met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard (down from 12.6 percent last year); 34.4 percent of ELLs met or exceeded the standard in math (up from 32.3 percent last year).

--15.5 percent of students with disabilities  met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard (up from 14.5 percent last year); 28.5  met or exceeded the standard in math (up from 26.9% last year).