Education Active Updated Aug 17, 2026
The reading score crash
NYC Public Schools' 2026 state exam results showed reading proficiency for grades 3-8 fell 6 points to about 50%, erasing most of last year's gain, with third-grade proficiency dropping nearly 14 points to 44.2%. The drop comes three years into the city's mandated phonics-based NYC Reads curriculum meant to replace two decades of balanced literacy, and testing experts and city officials are unsure whether the swing reflects real learning loss or a scoring problem.
The story so far
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Aug 17, 2026 Latest
Success Academy and Zeta charter school students outscored New York City public school students by 35 to 40 points on this year's state reading exams, the Post reported, days after citywide reading proficiency fell six points.
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Aug 14, 2026
Testing consultant Marianne Perie, who co-chairs the state's technical advisory committee, said a reading-score reversal this sharp was surprising enough to question whether it reflects real learning loss or a scoring problem, while Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the city will double down on NYC Reads next year rather than change course.
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Aug 13, 2026
UFT President Michael Mulgrew threatened to withdraw the union's support for the city's mandatory NYC Reads phonics curriculum after this spring's reading-score drop, calling the Department of Education's implementation "completely incompetent and irresponsible." Mulgrew said he still backs a common curriculum but objects to excessive state-mandated testing and city-approved intervention programs, while a DOE spokesperson called the union's claims untrue, Chalkbeat reported.
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Aug 11, 2026
NYC Public Schools' 2026 state exam results, released Friday, showed reading proficiency for grades 3-8 fell 6 points to about 50%, erasing most of last year's 7-point gain, while third-grade proficiency dropped nearly 14 points to 44.2%; math held roughly flat at 57%. Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels called the swings unusual and ordered further analysis.
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