Editor’s note: Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out how local schools did this past year compared to the previous year.

Students in the Bronx and throughout the rest of New York City struggled mightily with more rigorous math and reading exams imposed by the state this past year. It resulted in a massive drop in scores citywide that some officials said was good for students, while critics said it reflected the mayor’s failed policies.

Schools in the Norwood News coverage area saw an average of 21 percent of students pass the new math test and an average of 18 percent pass reading. Those scores are lower than the city’s total average — 30 percent of New York City students met state math standards and 26 percent passed the reading exams.

These results mark a drastic drop from scores in 2012, where an average of 54 percent of students at each local school passed in math and 41.5 percent passed in reading.

Education officials predicted the drop in scores, saying they would take a giant hit because of the challenging questions on the new tests, which are tied to new national standards called the Common Core.

Bloomberg said he saw the test scores as a positive.

“Our administration has consistently raised the bar for our students — and given time and support, they have consistently risen to the occasion,” said Bloomberg. “We are confident that they will rise to this challenge.”
State Education Commissioner John King was also optimistic, saying the “scores do not reflect a drop in performance, but rather a raising of standards to reflect college and career-readiness in the 21st century.”

Out of all of the Bronx public schools in our coverage area, Norwood Heights (PS 56) students had the best scores, with 37.95 percent passing math and 26.41 percent passing reading.

PS 246, meanwhile, had the worst results, with 12.38 percent of students passing math and 10.65 percent passing reading.

Every Bronx school did better on the math exam than on the reading, save for the Timothy Dwight School (PS 291). Students scored 10.27 percent in math and 12.07 percent in reading.

Critics say the city’s focus on teaching to the old tests over the years left students vulnerable when standards were raised.

“The alarmingly low passage rates seem to validate all along, that for 12 years, the DOE has been promoting a policy of teaching to the test,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

***

Below is a list of how local schools fared on the previous test (2012) and the new, more rigorous test (2013) in math and ELA (English Language Arts).

Bronx Dance Academy School

2012    55.1% Math,   39% ELA

2013    14.46% Math, 19.63% ELA

Jonas Bronck Academy (MS 228)

2012    59.1% Math,   44% ELA

2013    26.14% Math, 26.13% ELA

Bronx New School (PS51)

2012    65.3% Math,   62.4% ELA

2013    25.63% Math, 29.88% ELA

PS 95 Sheila Mencher

2012    55.6% Math,   42.2% ELA

2013    20.11% Math,             18.84% ELA

PS 8 Issac Varian

2012    55.6% Math,   46.9% ELA

2013    29.08% Math,             22.75% ELA

PS 20

2012    55.9% Math,   43.3% ELA

2013    16.78% Math,             19.51% ELA

PS 94 Kings College School

2012    36.9% Math,   30% ELA

2013    12.96% Math,             10.76% ELA

PS 46 Edgar Allen Poe

2012    44.8% Math,   27.2% ELA

2013    14.12% Math,             9.31% ELA

PS 56 Norwood Heights                                

2012    71.3% Math,   55.5% ELA

2013    37.95% Math,             26.41% ELA

PS 246 Poe Center

2012    42.1% Math,   27.1% ELA

2013    12.38% Math, 10.65% ELA

PS 340

2012    58.7% Math,   38.6% ELA

2013    25.46% Math, 14.44% ELA

PS 33 Timothy Dwight

2012    38.7% Math,   29.3% ELA

2013    10.27% Math, 12.07% ELA

PS 291

2012    59.6% Math,   53.5% ELA

2013    27.1% Math,   27.43% ELA

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.