Chapter 1 Introduction

In this project we are exploring New York state academic assessment results for Mathematics and Reading / Language Art from 2015-16 to 2020-21 school years. We are interested in analyzing how student groups from different racial, ethnic, socioeconomic status, students who identify as female or male, and background have performed in state-wide assessment tests. Although this work is purely exploratory and we are not suggesting any causality, the difference in performance can shed light on the current state of academic equity in the state.

By law states are required to provide reporting on the state-wide education assessment results to the Department of Education. The assessments are mandatory for grades third through eighth and at least once in high school. The results are reported as the percentage of students who are proficient in two subjects: Mathematics and Reading / Language Art.