City officials dispute report on public school students

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott made it clear his first impression of this week's negative report on student achievement has not changed.

Walcott says high school students could have written a more credible report than the I.B.O. He says the report's methodology is faulty and inaccurate.

The usual narrative from the city is that student achievement has significantly and steadily improved under Mayor Bloomberg, but the report by the Independent Budget Office has a different story to tell.

According to the I.B.O. report on student achievement of selected students tracked over several years, 62 per cent were found to show no improvement between 3rd and 8th grade, while only 30 per cent improved, and 8 per cent lost ground.

I.B.O. says its methodology paints a better picture than the city's picture.

The city often points to narrowing the achievement gap between black and Hispanic students and white students, but the I.B.O. report reads: "The findings for this cohort of students indicate little evidence of a narrowing achievement gap."

The I.B.O. Report is not expected to change policy, or the city's version of student progress.

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new york city, education news, art mcfarland

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