Trends in Education

The New York Times reports on how students in New York's schools have performed based on data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is often referred to as the nation's report card. According to the article, the math scores as reported by the city's schools dropped slightly over the two-year period.

Fourth grade math score average dropped by three points, from 237 to 234, while eighth grade scores averaged at 272, one point lower than in 2009. The fourth grade reading score average remained the same as that in 2009, while the eighth grade average increased by two points to 254.

This trend, however, does not conform to the nationwide trend showing that test scores for both fourth and eighth graders are either the same or higher this year than ever before. Nationally, fourth grade scores in both reading and math increased by one point. While eighth grade reading scores stayed the same, the math average is higher by one point. However, experts advise that the slight drop in the test scores of New York students is not large enough to be significant. The national trends are shown in the four line graphs below.

One important fact to note is that New York City's achievement gap between black and white students is shrinking. While black students scored 29 points lower than white students on reading tests in 2002, in 2011 they scored 26 points lower. Black students also scored an average of 25 points lower on fourth grade math tests in 2003, compared with 22 points lower in 2011.

Asian Population in New York City Tops One Million, Larger than Los Angeles and San Francisco Combined

A recent article in the New York Times centered on the rising Asian population in New York and its efforts to gain more political clout. Citing recent census data, the Times states that the Asian population in New York has exceeded one million for the first time ever, giving the city a substantially larger Asian population than either Los Angeles or San Francisco. The Asian population has been growing far faster than other racial groups in New York, increasing 32 percent since 2000, as compared with an 8 percent increase among Hispanics, a 3 percent decline among non-Hispanic whites, and a 5 percent decline in the black population during the same period.

But according to the article: "Asians in New York City still remain underrepresented in elected office, community leaders say, with only one Asian-American in the State Legislature, two on the City Council and one in a citywide post." Furthermore, "Advocates contend that public and private money for their community service organizations does not match the population’s size or need."

One of the reasons the article gives for underrepresentation of Asian Americans in political offices is the diversity of the Asian population in New York, and how that diversity hinders their progress and potential for collaboration. The Times writes: "Asian-Americans in New York trace their roots to dozens of countries, and speak more than 40 languages and dialects...Older immigrants may have lingering prejudices against other nationalities, rooted in historic rivalries among their native countries. Some organizations, particularly well-established Chinese ones that were in the vanguard of the fight for immigrant rights during the last century, may be hesitant to share hard-won gains. And South Asian groups have sometimes felt muscled aside or ignored by their more established East Asian counterparts."

It has not been easy for these different organizations to find common ground, but as the Asian population grows, there are signs that things might be changing: "As the number of Asians has soared, scores of groups that have long operated independently, and sometimes at odds, have begun pulling together into pan-Asian coalitions in recent years, particularly as younger generations and newer arrivals have seen the advantages of unifying."

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More Blacks Leaving East Coast, Midwest Cities for South

A recent New York Times article focused on a black family's return to Atlanta from New York, where they had migrated in the 1950s as part of the so-called Great Migration. According to census data, from which the Times took its information, "the economic downturn has propelled a striking demographic shift: black New Yorkers, including many who are young and college educated, are heading south." And it's not just New York: "The percentage of blacks leaving big cities in the East and in the Midwest and heading to the South is now at the highest levels in decades, demographers say."

Still, the move south appears to be strongest among New Yorkers. "About 17 percent of the African-Americans who moved to the South from other states in the past decade came from New York, far more than from any other state, according to census data. Of the 44,474 who left New York State in 2009, more than half, or 22,508, went to the South." Those migrating south are typically from middle-class enclaves, and some fear their departure is having a negative impact on the communities they leave behind, "helping to depress already falling housing prices. [Their departure] is also depriving the black community of investment and leadership from some of its most educated professionals, black leaders say."

The move south is seemingly a reverse of the aforementioned Great Migration, "which lasted roughly from World War I to the 1970s and saw African-Americans moving to the industrializing North to escape prejudice and find work." But with economic opportunities in the north scarce, and the desire of many blacks to reconnect with their past in the south, the north appears to have lost its appeal for many black Americans.

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