HANY Big5 Report

Report: The Big 5 NY Cities Opt In***EMBARGOED UNTIL MAY 11, 2015***HIGH ACHIEVEMENT NEW YORK NOT- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

REPORT: The Big 5 New York Cities Opt In to State Assessments

The vast majority of students in New Yorks five biggest cities; New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers and Syracuse, opted in to this years math and English Language Arts (ELA) state assessments, with over 98 percent of students taking the tests.

In other words, student refusals were concentrated outside of New Yorks largest hubs.

The major cities, which make up roughly 40 percent of New Yorks 1.2 million students in grades 3-8, accounted for only 3.3 percent of the 220,500 statewide opt-outs and had an overall opt-out rate of 1.5 percent.

Table 1: Big 5 Opt outs

CityOpt-OutsStudent Population% Opting Out

All (Top 5 Cities)7,307477,9271.53%

New York3,503421,8100.83%

Buffalo1,08519,6755.51%

Rochester1,30014,6408.88%

Yonkers62512,9734.82%

Syracuse7948,8298.99%

Sources: United to Counter the Core; Proximity One; Syracuse; NYC DoE.[footnoteRef:1] [1: UCC: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/t2_8Bg3h8mqx6Ax8rwGG5Mw/htmlview?pli=1#; Proximity One: http://proximityone.com/ny_sdc.htm; Syracuse: http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/04/onondaga_county_school_districts_report_9_to_67_percent_of_students_refused_math.html; NYC DoE: http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/data/TestResults/ELAandMathTestResults. ]

New Yorks five largest cities tend to lag behind the rest of the state in graduation rates and college and career readiness. So their decision to opt in to the state assessments signifies their recognition of the tests as a necessary component of higher learning standards and an important step toward ensuring their children are prepared for college and careers.

In 2014, the gap in college and career readiness between the states most populated cities and the statewide average was 16.5 percentage points in math and 19.18 points in ELA.

The New York City graduation rate trails that of the state by 12 percentage points. Further, in the city, only 17.6 percent of 2014 high school graduates left school prepared for college and careers, compared to the 31 percent statewide average.

Rochester has the lowest proficiency scores of any of the cities, with just over 5 percent of students taking ELA on track for college and careers in 2014, compared with the state average of 31.4 percent. Similarly, for math, only 6.8 percent of Rochester students were on track to achieve college and career readiness, nearly 30 percentage points below the state average.

Table 2: Big 5 College and Career Readiness

City% of 3-8 Graders on track for College & Career Readiness in ELA% of 3-8 Graders on track for College & Career Readiness in Math% of High School Graduates Ready for College and Careers

State Avg*35.831.431

Big 5 Average16.6214.910.84

NYC34.529.417.6

Yonkers21.118.718.9

Rochester6.85.74.9

Syracuse7.68.55.5

Buffalo13.112.27.3

Source: NYSED.[footnoteRef:2] [2: NYSED: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2014/2014Grades3-8ELAMath-final8-13-14.pdfhttp://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/20141218/2010-CohortGradRate-12-17-14.pdf.]

However, the standards and assessments are working.

The average New York public school saw a 4.7 percent increase in the number of students on track to graduate prepared for college and careers between 2013 and 2014. Moreover, New York City and Yonkers both experienced larger proficiency gains than the state, at 6.4 and 6.8 percent, respectively (see table 4).

Table 3: Testing Improvements from 2013-2014 in the Big 5 Cities

City2013 ELA Proficient 2014 ELA Proficient 2013 Math Proficient 2014 Math Proficient Combined Net Improvement

State Avg*31.331.431.235.84.7

New York City27.429.430.134.56.4

Yonkers16.918.716.121.16.8

Buffalo12.112.211.413.11.8

Rochester5.65.74.86.82.1

Syracuse8.58.57.27.60.4

Source: NYSED.[footnoteRef:3] [3: NYSED: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/ela-math/2014/2014Grades3-8ELAMath-final8-13-14.pdf. *The State Avg refers to the state average for all public schools in New York State. ]

The first high school class to graduate with four full years of Common Core saw and increased graduation rate in each city. Specifically, the graduation rate in New York City increased by 3.3 percentage points after the introduction of Common Core in 2010.

Table 4: Graduation Rates

City2010 Graduation Rates2011 Graduation Rates2012 Graduation Rates2013 Graduation Rates2014 Graduation Rates

State Avg*76.176.876.777.879.1

New York City65.165.564.76668.4

Yonkers68.372.172.172.375.8

Buffalo49.655.347.85655.5

Rochester50.54948.648.151

Syracuse50.75351.151.955.7

Source: NYSED.[footnoteRef:4] [4: NYSED: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/20141218/2010-CohortGradRate-12-17-14.pdf. *The State Avg refers to the state average for all public schools in New York State.]

Table 5: Opt-Outs by District within the Big 5 Cities

CountyDistrictELAMathOpt-OutsTotal Students% Opting Out

ErieBuffalo City SD1,085-1,08519,6755.51%

MonroeRochester City SD1,300921,30014,6408.88%

OnondagaSyracuse City SD4047947948,8298.99%

WestchesterYonkers City SD625-62512,9734.82%

New YorkNYC District 13193193195,0776.28%

BronxNYC District 1095959524,0310.40%

BronxNYC District 11--018,9920.00%


KingsNYC District 133113113116,1365.07%


KingsNYC District 151,4941,5201,52012,73511.94%

KingsNYC District 16--04,2430.00%









QueensNYC District 2426383826,3570.14%








RichmondNYC District 3127027027026,6061.01%

KingsNYC Geographic District 32--07,6120.00%







ALL7,307477,9271.53%

Methodology

The estimated number of opt-outs is based on the data collected by United to Counter the Core, using the max number from either ELA or Math to allow for potential overlap in opt-outs between the two subjects.[footnoteRef:5] [5: UCC: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1skCRo8-KlZpeu8APQlTMU7L0lpwnKP6oOknDrR0BTO4/edit?pli=1#gid=0. ]

The total number of students per NYC district is based on the number of students who took the assessments in 2013.[footnoteRef:6] Syracuse student population data was sourced from Syracuse.com.[footnoteRef:7] Other district level student data was based on Census data from Proximity One.[footnoteRef:8] [6: NYC DoE: http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/data/TestResults/ELAandMathTestResults. ] [7: Syracuse: www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2015/04/onondaga_county_school_districts_report_9_to_67_percent_of_students_refused_math.html.] [8: Proximity One: http://proximityone.com/ny_sdc.htm. ]

College and career readiness is calculated by the NYS Education, which defines a score of 3 or 4 on the state assessments as on track for college and careers. This is also referred to as proficiency. For students graduating from high school, proficiency is defined by attainment of a regents diploma with advanced designation.

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HANY Big5 Report