NYC students score far below state, national averages on SAT, marking some of the lowest scores in years
New York City students scored far below the rest of the state and country on the SAT — producing the lowest average scores in at least seven years, troubling new data show.
Public school students in the Big Apple scored an average 473 on the math portion of last year’s standardized test, which is widely used for college admissions in the US. It was a whopping 71 points below the average for the rest of New York, and 32 points below that of the rest of the country.
Reading and writing scores remained flat, with NYC students averaging 482, the same as 2023 — but the rest of the state and country again far outperformed the city, with average scores of 553 and 519, respectively.
The math, reading and writing portions of the test are each scored out of 800, making the highest possible score a 1600.
“It’s another wake up call for New York City Public Schools to concentrate on improved instruction in core subjects,” remarked David Bloomfield, an educator professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center.
The Big Apple’s SAT flop continued a steady decline that began in 2022 and marked the lowest average scores in at least seven years, according to data released by the city Department of Education Friday.
The tests are typically administered from August through June. A school-by-school or borough breakdown was not immediately available.
Bloomfield was shocked by an especially wide gap between Asian and white test takers compared to Black and Hispanics.
Performance among each demographic on the math portion dropped in NYC compared to 2023. Asian students scored an average 582, down four points from the year before, and white students averaged a 536, down eight points from the year prior.
But Hispanic students scored an average of 430 on the math section — more than 100 points less than their white counterparts and five points less than they did the year before. Black students scored an average of 426, down two points from 2023, and 118 points lower than the rest of the state’s average.
Nationally, math scores dropped by three points, and statewide, they ticked down one point.
Asian kids in NYC did better in reading and writing compared to last year, however, while white students dropped from an average of 555 to 549. Black students’ reading and writing average went up slightly, from 446 to 449, while Hispanic kids’ average dropped 1 point to 445.
Across the country, the reading and writing average dropped one point, while the rest of New York, not including the city, increased by one point.
“These results are a reminder that we need to keep expanding access to academic support — especially for students who haven’t traditionally had it,” said Frances Kweller, director of the Manhattan- and Queens-based tutoring company Kweller Prep.
“The population of students in New York City compared to the rest of the state, compared to the rest of the country, is poorer and has more kids of color, more special ed kids and more immigrants who whose native language is other than English,” Eric Nadelstern, who was the deputy chancellor for instruction at the DOE under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, told The Post.
“Those are the factors that I think account for the disparity in SAT scores,” he added, noting also that students who took the test last year were starting high school when COVID-19 lockdowns hit.
NYC students’ participation in the exam dropped from 71.5% of graduating students taking the exam in 2023 to 70.9% last year. The only demographic whose participation increased were Asians.
The College Board, which administers the SAT, transitioned the test to a fully digital format in the spring of 2024.
Many colleges stopped requiring SAT and ACT scores during the pandemic, but have recently reversed course.
“Colleges are moving back to ‘test required’ precisely because they have seen a direct correlation between SAT and ACT performance and college readiness and success,” said Linda Quarles, a Brooklyn Tech parent and vice president of the Citywide Council on High Schools.
Leo Niyazov, an 11th-grader at Brooklyn Technical High School and student at Kweller Prep, knows preparing for the SAT will up his chances of getting into West Point.
“Even though many colleges are test-optional now, West Point still requires the SAT … A strong SAT score helps strengthen my whole application,” he said.
Avish Jain, another Brooklyn Tech 11th-grader, is doing test prep in the hopes that his SAT score helps him get into college on scholarship.
“I wish more support was available in schools,” he said.
The DOE did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
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