De Blasio, Fariña praise scores, but remain wary of state tests

[hrmjustin]

Eliza Shapiro

Mayor Bill de Blasio and schools chancellor Carmen Fariña on Thursday praised the slight improvement in citywide test scores while reiterating their shared ambivalence toward testing in general.

At a press conference at the Brooklyn Brownstone School to announce the scores, de Blasio said, "This is a good day for the whole New York City school system," before adding, "a school is not the sum of its test scores."

New York City students made small improvements this year, after dismal results last year: proficiency in math rose from 30 percent to 35 percent and from 27 percent to 29 percent in English.

The statewide results were released earlier Thursday, showing modest gains in math and no gains in English proficiency across the state.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/08/8550824/de-blasio-fari%C3%B1a-praise-scores-remain-wary-state-tests