NYC-WTC_000230730

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document I

KIDS MISS THE MARK S5

Sth-graders fail miserably in math and reading I 1 © . By KENNETH LOVETT only get worse. and CARL CAMPANIIE Math Reading The city and state, they say, were already having The city’s eighth-grad­ ers continue to perform Percentage of dty students wtio are not meetlnfl bask standards trouble attracting quali­ o fied teachers before the abysmally in math and reading, new student- achievement test results . Grades Grade 4 Grades attacks. And now the money wiU not likely be 2i I show. nj 77^ there to beef up teacher 673 CT salaries. J Despite historic in- 643 I creases in school aid the 50J SOS "If numbers didn’t im- : prove after we pumped in a past several years, per­ 4812 I more than $3 billion over 5S formance among eighth- graders has remained stagnant — and horrid, I the past four years, whaf s ■ going to happen when the budget increases arc K a state Education Commis­ sioner Richard Mills an­ more stagnant?" one key nounced yesterday. . lawmaker asked. Just 22.8 percent of Mills recognizes the im­ o e eijjith-graders ■ are meet­ i 1999 2000 2001 1999 2000 2001 1999 2000 2001 pediments, but says the ing the state’s math stan­ state must stay the course dards — the same per­ with its tougher stan­ O On the bright side, Schools Chancellor test results and improve has pumped more into the dards. H centage as in 1999, the fourth-waders showed Harold Levy said he was. instruction. middle schools last year. H first year of the new some improvement on heartened by fourth­ "It would be a mistake Parent leaders were I’Ut “it’s surely not help­ to say 'time out,’ that cs statewide assessment math — scores shot up 55 grade . math scores, but upset with the results. 1^ test. percentage points. Still, disturbed by the eighth- "We think the results hW-’ we’U only improve per­ The board also 1^ set formance when times are That means a whopping ro 77 percent can’t compute. only 51,8 percent met grade results. for, the middle schools are ?? T >>7 good,” Mills said-- ' In reading, just 33J per­ math standards — mean­ "I continue to be disap­ terrible,”' said Ernest Man^dan member Iry- "I don’t think we can s Q cent of the city's eignth- ing nearly half are still pointed that the school Clayton, president of the “« not meeting the stan­ system has not made expect backslides and we graders are meeting the United Parents Associa- certainly' can’t accept standard, down from 353 dards. greater progress,” Levy tion of New York City. ^^/c^d shotSy. " them," ne said. > o statewide eighth-grade said. Mills said schools will . © percent two years ago. In A lot of these kids are with the state facing a •A © o other words, two-thirds test results were also flat Levy stressed that he’s have.to figure out how to | I can’t read well. — but they were still 15 overhauling the Board of not going to be prepared potential fiscal crisis in do more with less fund­ points higher Education’s math pro­ for the Regents exams re- the wake of the Sept. U ing. “Money alone isn’t SI York City 1^ held steady CSW . city. However, gram, and will provide quired to graduate high terrorist attacks, some the whole story,” he said. 8*8 Apple test scores teachers with a Web­ school. It’s dishearten- legislative officials are “It's about the fundamen­ co but at a very low level,” 7®”, “ .‘*‘® based software program ing.” worried that academic re­ tal programs at each co Mills said. four largest upstate cities. to help analyze student Clayton noted the board suits in New York will school.”

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NYC-WTC_000230730