New Report: Analysis of Student Performance on State Assessments

Posted by on April 05, 2010

Big cities make gains

A new report by the Council for Great City Schools finds that students in big-city schools are advancing in mathematics and reading on both state and national tests, and racial achievement gaps appear to be narrowing. The study analyzed 65 urban school systems in 37 states and the District of Columbia, and found test-score gains from 2006 to 2009 in fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading on state assessments. The report compiles data on city-by-city percentages of public school students performing at or above “proficiency” and those scoring at the lowest levels. The study strongly suggests urban students are making substantial progress in both reading and mathematics, says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly, “but there’s still a long road ahead.” Seventy-nine percent of large urban school districts increased the percentage of fourth-grade students who scored at or above proficient between 2006 and 2009, and 88 percent of districts increased eighth-grade student performance. Forty-four percent of urban districts showed increased performance for all grades tested on their respective state assessments, with 95 percent showing increased performance for half or more of the grades tested. America’s big-city school systems are more likely to enroll black, Hispanic, or Asian American students, as well as students from low-income families and students raised in non-English-speaking homes.

See the report: http://www.cgcs.org/Pubs/BT9.pdf