City and state education officials predicted a dramatic drop in test scores this year after rolling out more difficult exams kids will start taking next week.
The standards shifted so much that city students in grades 3 to 8 could see a whopping 30% decrease in scores, officials said. “It’s time to rip the Band-Aid off,” Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said in an exclusive interview with the Daily News Thursday. “And we have a responsibility to rip that Band-Aid off.”
The exams are the culmination of a national effort — called Common Core — to engage students to think more critically in reading and math.
They are expected to read more nonfiction texts, using specific lines from the passages to back up their answers. They are encouraged to find different ways of solving a math problem, showing each step of their work.
Walcott said the “possibility exists” that 80% of students could score below proficient in certain school districts in the city.
“I think there will be a lot of stress, but people will see the test actually reflects Common Core,” said State Education Commissioner John King, who added that previously the eighth-grade reading exams were at a fifth-grade level. “It’s tougher and (a) more different kind of work.”
To account for the anticipated drop in grades, city officials said they are going to adjust cut-off rates for summer school and high school admissions so remedial programs are not flooded with additional students.
“No one is going to be punished for this,” said Shael Polakow-Suransky, the city’s chief academic officer. “We don’t want to create a situation where triple the amount of kids have to go to summer school.”
Forty-six states, including New York, have adopted the Common Core standards. Most states — except Florida and Kentucky — are holding off on administering the new exams until 2015. Officials added that the tests will offer a more accurate benchmark for how prepared students are for colleges and careers.
“We have an obligation to get kids to a much higher level than they’re getting to now,” said Polakow-Suransky.
bchapman@nydailynews.com and clestch@nydailynews.com
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Here is a comparison of an old testing question and one from the Common Core.
Old Fourth Grade Question
Ms. Upton spends a total of $42 for 3 sweaters. Each sweater costs the same. How much does each sweater cost?
Show your work.
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New Fourth Grade Question
Candy wants to buy herself a new bicycle that costs $240. Candy has already saved $32, but she needs to make a plan so she can save the rest of the money she needs. She decides to save the same amount of money, x dollars, each month for the next four months.
A: Write an equation that helps Candy determine the amount of money she must save each month.
B: Solve the equation.
