City public school students scored higher on the state's standardized math test than they did last year, but their marks still trail their peers in the rest of the state, according to test results released Tuesday by the state Education Department. Citywide, more than 65 percent of third to eighth graders passed the math test, up about eight points from last year. Third graders did the best, with about 82 percent passing. Seventh graders showed the most improvement from last year – up almost 12 points. More than 82 percent of third graders passed the test, as did more than 74 percent of fourth graders. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he never expected gains like this. "New York City students are now getting up to the level of the whole state,” said Bloomberg. “Nobody thought we'd ever do that because we're the big city, with all of the challenges that a big immigrant community and an inner city gives you, and yet the results are starting to grow sufficiently that we can stand our own." "This year was just, ‘wow,’” said PS 45 Principal Tracy Lott-Davis. More than 75 percent of Lott-Davis’ students, grades three through eight, passed the test – 23 percent more than last year. However, the report revealed that marks declined in the middle grade levels, with just over 71 percent of fifth graders, 63 percent of sixth graders, and almost 56 percent of seventh graders passing. Barely 46 percent of eighth graders passed. The city reports black and Latino students are slowly narrowing the achievement gap with white and Asian students. Some city lawmakers said that number is still too high. "We're happy with the results, but we're not happy overall because our kids need to progress a lot more,” said Manhattan City Councilman Robert Jackson. The mayor acknowledged more must be done, especially for the older students. "We're going to have to figure out how to make sure they catch up and get the kind of education they need,” said Bloomberg. Statewide, math achievement was up overall with almost 73 percent of students passing, but city kids overall had a lower passing rate of 65 percent. The test is scored on a scale of one to four. Kids who get a three or four pass. A two can go either way, and a score of one is failing. About 11 percent of city kids failed, and under the rules, those kids in grades three, five and seven need to take summer school classes to pass math, or they risk having to repeat their grade in September.
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