Dive Brief:

• New York state on Thursday released scores from its Common Core-aligned spring exams, showing an overall rise in math scores and a plateauing of English Language Arts scores.  
• This is the second year students in the state have taken a Common Core-aligned exam, which is significant because the scores can now be compared and any gains or declines have continuity.  
• Math proficiency climbed 5% from last year, landing at 36%, while proficiency in language arts went from 31.3% last year to 31.4%.  

Dive Insight:

"The overall picture here is one of statewide progress but clearly much more work to do," state Education Commissioner John King Jr. told reporters. While King acknowledged that language arts skills typically take longer to build, he is still aware that the English scores are not on the same track as the math scores.

According to the released scores, New York City — the largest district in both the state and nation — saw gains in both math and English. Math scores went from 29.6% to 34.2%, while English scores went from 26.4% to 28.4%. This news looks good for new Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said at a conference Thursday, "We've got some momentum now, and now we need to build on it."