Statewide test results show math and reading scores have remained steady–with little improvement–for the third year in a row.
And the results show little progress in closing the achievement gap–with black students failing math and reading tests at twice the rate of white students. In the 2015-16 school year, 59-percent of students met math standards, and 60-percent met reading standards.
State Education Commissioner Brenda Casselius says “it is disappointing to see the slow pace of progress.” She says closing the achievement gap is still possible, but “we cannot do it alone.” And she says the only way to close the gaps is to “address with equal urgency the opportunity gaps outside of school that impact children’s likelihood of school success.”