NYC Test Scores Soar, But Achievement Gaps Tell a More Complex Story

Last updated: October 7, 2025

New York City public schools posted substantial gains on 2024-25 state tests, with reading proficiency jumping 7.2 percentage points and math increasing 3.5 points—the highest levels since 2012. But behind the citywide celebration lies persistent achievement gaps that actually widened for students with disabilities, raising questions about whether curriculum mandates alone can address educational equity.

TL;DR

NYC grades 3-8 test scores increased substantially in 2024-25, with reading up 7.2 points and math up 3.5 points.
Scores reached highest levels since 2012, with nearly 57% of students meeting proficiency standards in both subjects.
Achievement gaps for students with disabilities actually widened, with only 27-29% meeting proficiency.
Racial disparities persist, with 81% of Asian and 75% of white students passing math versus 43% of Black/Latino students.
NYC Reads program expanded to 490,000+ students, though over two-thirds of teachers report needing supplementary materials.
Educational researchers caution that statewide gains of similar magnitude occurred without curriculum mandates.
Multiple concurrent investments including class size reduction and technology distribution complicate attributing gains to any single initiative.

Historic Gains Mask Troubling Disparities

New York City public school students posted substantial gains on 2024-25 state tests, with reading proficiency jumping 7.2 percentage points and math proficiency increasing 3.5 points—the highest levels since 2012. But behind the citywide celebration lies a more nuanced picture of student achievement that challenges simple narratives of educational success.

The improvements, announced by Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos in August 2025, show 56.3% of students in grades 3-8 now meet proficiency standards in English Language Arts, up from 49.1% the previous year. In math, proficiency rose from 53.4% to 56.9%, surpassing New York State averages in both subjects for the nation’s largest school district serving over one million students.

“These results show that when we set high expectations for our students and give our educators the right tools, our kids rise to the occasion,” Chancellor Aviles-Ramos said in a statement. City officials point to the gains as validation of NYC Reads, Mayor Adams’ signature education initiative requiring all elementary schools to use one of three city-approved reading curricula based on the “science of reading.”

Schools implementing the curriculum changes for two years saw the largest improvements: an 11.6 percentage point jump in reading proficiency for grades 3-5. Schools in their first year of implementation increased 10.4 percentage points. Early literacy screener data shows accelerated growth, with a 2.5-point increase more than doubling the previous year’s 0.9-point improvement.

NYC test scores hit 12-year high with 7.2-point reading gains, but achievement gaps for students with disabilities actually widened despite overall improvements. The complex picture behind the headlines. #education #EducationEquity #NYC #TestScores Tweet Now Follow Learning Success

The Achievement Gap Reality

Yet the celebrations obscure troubling disparities that worsened even as overall scores climbed. Only 27% of students with disabilities achieved reading proficiency and 29% in math—and the gap between these students and their non-disabled peers actually widened despite the overall gains.

Vast racial achievement gaps persist beneath the aggregate improvements. While 75% of Asian American students and 73% of white students demonstrated reading proficiency, only 47% of Black students and 43.5% of Latino students met standards. In math, the disparities prove equally stark: 81% of Asian and 75% of white students passed compared to just 43% of Black and Latino students.

This means that despite the 8-point gain celebrated for Black students, the majority—53%—still don’t meet grade-level reading standards. For Latino students, 56.5% remain below proficiency thresholds.

“The headline numbers look great, but when you dig into the disaggregated data, you see that we’re still failing huge numbers of children—particularly our most vulnerable students,” says Laura Buckley, an education researcher and advocate. “A rising tide that lifts some boats while others sink further isn’t the success story being sold to the public.”

Author Quote "

Aggregate test score improvements that mask widening achievement gaps for our most vulnerable students aren’t the success story being presented. We can’t declare victory while the majority of students with disabilities and Black/Latino students still don’t meet basic proficiency standards.

Laura Lurns Learning Success Expert

How the MSM Has Misled

NYC Mayor's Office: "These academic gains in English Language Arts and math are a testament to what's possible when we invest in our young people" — This predetermined conclusion attributes gains definitively to NYC Reads before independent verification, ignoring that similar statewide gains occurred without curriculum mandates and that aggressive test preparation efforts could have inflated scores.
Official Press Releases: Emphasized that "reading and math scores increased across all grades" while completely omitting that achievement gaps for students with disabilities actually widened and that only 27-29% of these students achieved proficiency. This selective reporting creates a false impression of universal improvement.
Chancellor Aviles-Ramos: Claimed results show success "when we set high expectations for our students and give our educators the right tools" without acknowledging that over two-thirds of teachers report needing supplementary materials beyond the approved curricula, revealing significant implementation challenges.
Multiple Sources: Celebrated 8-point gains for Black students while omitting that 53% of Black students and 56.5% of Latino students still don't meet grade-level standards. This framing celebrates marginal progress while obscuring that the majority of these student populations continue to fail.
NYC DOE Communications: Used language like "coincides with the full citywide implementation of NYC Reads" to strongly imply causation between curriculum changes and test gains, despite lack of control groups and Columbia Professor Pallas noting similar statewide improvements suggest other factors at work.

Questioning Causation and Implementation

Columbia University Professor Aaron Pallas, who studies school performance, cautions against premature conclusions about what drove the improvements. New York State overall experienced substantial gains during the same period—without mandating curriculum changes. The state’s increases occurred at similar magnitude to NYC’s, suggesting broader factors may be at play beyond the city’s specific initiatives.

“These results are encouraging, but they’re suggestive rather than definitive,” Pallas noted. “If there’s real growth, it should be sustained. And that requires looking at scores over the next couple years.”

The city also mounted aggressive test preparation efforts targeting students near proficiency thresholds, which could artificially inflate short-term gains. State tests themselves underwent a series of modifications making year-over-year comparisons challenging.

While NYC Reads has won support from the teachers union, educators report mixed experiences with the rollout. A February 2025 survey by Educators for Excellence-New York found that over two-thirds of teachers need supplementary materials beyond the approved curricula to meet diverse learner needs. Only 55% of Phase 1 teachers reported feeling confident teaching the curriculum to on-grade-level students—and confidence levels were even lower for Phase 2 teachers at 38%.

Key Takeaways:

7.2-point reading gain: NYC grades 3-8 ELA proficiency increased from 49.1% to 56.3%, highest since 2012, exceeding state averages

Widening gaps for vulnerable students: Only 27-29% of students with disabilities met proficiency standards, with gaps actually increasing despite overall gains

490,000+ students in NYC Reads: Program expansion includes 186 additional schools, though over two-thirds of teachers report needing supplementary materials

Cross-Cutting Investments and Looking Forward

The test score improvements occurred amid substantial educational investments beyond curriculum changes. NYC implemented class size reduction requirements with $182 million in funding, distributed 350,000 internet-enabled Chromebooks closing digital divides, and invested heavily in teacher compensation and professional development. These concurrent initiatives make isolating the specific impact of curriculum mandates challenging.

NYC plans full implementation of NYC Reads and NYC Solves in all middle schools by the 2027-2028 school year, with Spring 2025 expansion already adding the initiatives to 186 additional schools across 14 districts, totaling over 490,000 students benefiting.

But educational equity advocates emphasize that aggregate improvements mask ongoing failures for vulnerable populations. Nearly three-quarters of students with disabilities still don’t meet basic proficiency standards. More than half of Black and Latino students remain below grade level despite improvements. Achievement gaps in some categories widened rather than narrowed.

“We can’t declare victory while massive achievement gaps persist and actually grow for our most vulnerable kids,” Buckley argues. “The question isn’t whether some students are doing better—it’s whether our educational system serves all students equitably. And on that measure, NYC still has tremendous work ahead.”

As the 2025-26 school year progresses, the true test will be whether gains prove sustained and whether the benefits extend beyond aggregate statistics to reach every student, regardless of disability status, race, or socioeconomic background.

Author Quote "

The rush to attribute gains to curriculum mandates ignores that New York State overall saw similar improvements without mandates, aggressive test prep efforts targeting near-proficient students, and concurrent investments in class sizes and technology. Educational causation is rarely this simple.