Sol Stern writes that New York City students showed no improvement on federal 4th and 8th grade reading tests between 2003 and 2007 (“US English Tragedy,” PostOpinion, July 14).

In fact, while a 2007 state policy change dramatically increased the number of students required to take reading exams who were not proficient in English, the scores of English-proficient 4th graders improved by eight points over 2003. The average gain, nationally, was four points.

Even more to the point, African-American students, whom Stern singles out as particularly disserved by the city’s reading programs, outperform their 4th-grade peers nationally and are 10 points above the average for big cities in the United States.

David Cantor
Manhattan