New York City public school students continued to make gains on state English and math exams this year,
Staten Island mom Simeka Taylor, who has two students enrolled in PS 21, Elm Park, tells the mayor and chancellor how pleased she is with the improvements the boys have made in reading and math. (Facebook screenshot)STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- City public school students continued to make gains on state English and math exams this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina said Tuesday.
In 2017, 40.6 percent of students citywide met proficiency standards in English, a 2.6 point increase from 38.0 percent last year. City students outperformed their New York State peers in English for the first time last year, and widened the gap with this year's results.
A total of 37.8 percent of students citywide met the standards in math, a 1.3 point increase from 36.4 percent last year.
Students in Staten Island's District 31 outperformed their citywide peers in every borough but Manhattan.
A total 47.1 percent of Island students in third through eighth-grade read at or above grade level, an improvement of 2.7 percent over 2016.
A total 41.8 percent of Island students met standards in math, up 1.6 percent from last year.
Since 2013, the percentage of students citywide who are proficient in English has increased by 54 percent. The percentage of students proficient in math has increased by 27 percent, de Blasio said.
"These improvements over the past four years represent painstaking work - student by student, classroom by classroom, and school by school," de Blasio said. "We remain focused on building on these gains and others."
Farina said the gains are "one more measure on which New York City schools are the strongest they've ever been."
"It's important to celebrate our progress -- and thank the educators and school staff, parents and families, and students themselves who made this possible." she said. "We're hard at work building on our progress to do even better for our students, families, and the city's future."
The mayor and chancellor were joined at the news conference by a Staten Island mom, Simeka Taylor, who has two students, a son and nephew she's raising, at PS 21, Elm Park.
Taylor told the mayor and chancellor of the improvements the two boys have made in reading and math. She credited teachers at PS 21, whom she described as "beyond patient" and "nurturing" and she touted programs at PS 21, like its college-access partnership with Wagner College, and its after-school STEM program, that make the boys "not want to miss a day of school." Both boys have perfect attendance, she said.