Releases & Statements

Statement of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum on 2005
National Assessment of Educational Progress Test Scores for Grades 4 and 8

We need to face the facts: Forty-three percent of our 4th graders are still reading below basic level. Thirty-nine percent of our 8th graders are reading below basic level—a one percent increase from 2003. The NAEP itself says that the percentage of students reading at the proficient level hasn’t changed significantly. It’s time for the Chancellor to take off the rose-tinted glasses and acknowledge that we still have a long, long way to go.

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