As New York Schoolchildren Get Older, They Do Worse on Math

, Spencer Irvine, Leave a comment

From School Reform News:

Results of 2016 state testing data indicate 44 percent of New York 3rd graders were proficient in math, yet only 24 percent of 8th graders reached proficiency.

The contrast is especially stark in Central New York, where “only 15 percent of eighth graders scored proficient in math,” Syracuse.com reported in October, while “third graders scored 40 percent proficient.”

New York State adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010. Publicized as more rigorous than previous mathematics standards, Common Core has shifted instructional emphasis from mastery of techniques to what its proponents call “conceptual understanding.”