Gains in Test Scores But Criticism Remains
An article in the New York Times looks at the recent focus on statewide standardized tests in New York City public schools, which has been a hallmark of Mayor Bloomberg’s administration.
By the numbers, the program appears to have been a success: Eighty-two percent of New York City students passed the math exam this year while 69 percent passed the English exam. Compare these to 42 and 38 percent, respectively, in 2002.
“In its campaign to extend the mayor’s school control law, which the State Senate is expected to take up this week, the Bloomberg administration has used the rising test scores as evidence of improved teaching and learning under its direction. Still, educators continue to debate the true value of the tests and a curriculum guided by them, arguing that some of the rise in scores is attributable simply to students’ growing comfort with test-taking, and that some of the skills developed to prepare for the exams, like time-allocation techniques and multiple-choice shortcuts, are poor substitutes for true understanding of key concepts.”
Critics point to a drop in SAT scores statewide; if the ELA and math scores indicated improved education, shouldn’t all standardized scores rise equally? Some wonder whether the test-score inflation is a result of “teaching to the test,” rather than focusing on overall instruction. Another point of contention is the racial achievement gap: while scores of black and Hispanic students have increased, the gap between their scores and those of their higher-scoring white and Asian classmates remains.
