New York City Students at Wealthier High Schools Do Better on Science Tests

Nov. 18–Students in poor schools perform far worse on science tests than do their counterparts in wealthier schools, a City Council report revealed yesterday.

On the chemistry Regents, only 24 percent of students in high-poverty high schools passed the exam last year, while 85 percent of the students in richer schools made the grade.

The huge gap highlights how much work needs to be done in science education, Council members said.

“What’s happening in the classroom is not acceptable,” said City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan).

City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz (D-Manhattan), head of the Education Committee, recommended that Chancellor Joel Klein judge schools on science performance just as he does for reading and math scores.

She blamed a lack of quality science teachers in the city’s toughest schools for the uneven scores and suggested beefing up salaries for science teachers.

“We cannot afford to lose another generation of children,” Moskowitz said.

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