Nearly Sixty Percent of Schools Moved Up One Letter Grade or Maintained an 'A' Grade for Two Consecutive Years
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today released the second annual public school Progress Reports for 284 New York City high schools. The reports give letter grades (A to F) to schools based on student academic achievement and progress as well as student attendance and the results of annual parent, teacher, and student surveys about schools’ learning environments. Many schools showed improvement over last year and others maintained their strong results. Fifty-seven percent of schools moved up by at least one letter grade or received an A for the second year in a row. Eighty-six percent of the schools that earned As last year earned As again this year. Additionally, 75 percent of schools that received Ds or Fs last year improved at least one letter grade, and more than one-third of these schools improved enough to earn a B this year. In all, 39 percent of high schools received As, up from 24 percent last year. The higher grades reflect an increase in the average scores citywide on 17 of the 18 measures on the Progress Report. The Department of Education will be sending postcards this week to the families of all New York City eighth-grade public school students, encouraging them to consult Progress Reports and other accountability measures for the high schools the students are considering.
“When we introduced Progress Reports last year, we gave schools a powerful new way to pinpoint the students they are serving successfully and the students who are falling behind. A large number of high schools put that information to good use and earned a higher grade this year as a result,” Chancellor Klein said. “Higher Progress Report grades mean that thousands more students in this City are on track to graduate with the skills they need to become successful adults. I’m confident that the changes we made to this year’s Progress Reports will make them an even more useful tool for parents and other stakeholders—especially for families of eighth-graders who are deciding where to apply to high school.”
Progress Report Results
Of the schools that received Progress Reports today, 112 received an A (39 percent), 123 received a B (43 percent), 35 received a C (12 percent), 8 received a D (3 percent), and 6 received an F (2 percent). Last year, 57 high schools received an A (24 percent), 98 received a B (41 percent), 61 received a C (26 percent), 12 received a D (5 percent), and 9 received an F (4 percent). More high schools received a grade this year because many new small schools graduated their first class in June 2008. Schools do not receive grades until they have graduated at least one class.
Notable results on this year’s high school Progress Reports include:
- Fifty-seven percent of schools moved up at least one letter grade or attained an A for the second year in a row.
- Eighty-six percent of the schools that earned As last year earned As again this year. Of the 57 schools that earned As last year, 49 received As this year and 8 received Bs.
- Seventy-five percent of the schools that earned Ds and Fs last year rose at least one letter grade, and more than one-third of these schools improved enough to earn a B.
- Citywide, the average scores on 17 of the 18 measures on the Progress Report rose since last year. (The exception was “Percentage of Students Earning 10+ Credits in 3rd Year,” which declined 0.3%.)
- All the Specialized High Schools that received a grade earned an A. Brooklyn Latin did not receive a grade because it has not yet graduated its first class.
- New schools (schools that opened in 2002 or later) outperformed other schools. The average score for new schools that received grades this year and last year was 66.7 points out of 100. The average score for new schools that received their first grade this year was 61.8 out of 100. The average score for all other schools was 49.5 points out of 100.
- Three schools scored above 100 points: Brooklyn International High School (106.5), The High School for Contemporary Arts (102), and Gregorio Luperon High School (100.4).
This year’s Progress Report grades reflect the fact that New York City high schools are helping more students stay on track to graduate on time. Six thousand more students earned 10 or more credits last year than in 2006-07, a 2.4 percent increase, and students passed 46,000 more Regents exams. Among students in the lowest third of their high schools based on incoming test scores, 2,400 more than in 2006-07 earned at least 10 credits, a 3.3 percent increase.
In recognition of these accomplishments, and to encourage continued progress, the Department of Education will raise the minimum score required for high schools to earn an A, B, C, or D next year.
Progress Report Methodology
Progress Reports give each school an overall letter grade based on three categories: school environment (15 percent), student performance (25 percent), and student progress (60 percent). This year, schools also receive a grade in each of three categories. “School environment” includes the results of surveys taken by more than 800,000 parents, students, and teachers last spring, as well as student attendance rates. “Student performance” measures the number of graduates and rewards schools based on the rigor of the different diplomas students receive. “Student progress” measures how well schools are helping students progress towards graduation by amassing course credits and passing Regents Exams. Schools that do an exemplary job closing the achievement gap can earn additional credit.
Three-fourths of a school’s Progress Report score comes from comparing the school’s results to the 40 or so other schools in the City serving the most similar student population. The remaining one-fourth of the school’s score is based on a comparison with all schools citywide that serve the same grade levels.
Schools that earned Ds and Fs could face consequences that include leadership changes or closure based on a comprehensive review of their survey and Quality Review scores, last year’s results, overall proficiency levels, the principal’s length of service, and input from key officials. Last year, nine schools that earned Ds and Fs began phasing out. Eighteen schools that earned Ds and Fs have new principals this year. Since 2002, the DOE has closed or is in the process of closing 83 failing schools. In addition, students enrolled at schools that earned an F and who will be enrolled at the school again next year will be able to apply to transfer to another school this spring.
Feedback from principals, elected officials, union leaders, Community Education Councils, and other members of school communities led to several changes to this year’s Progress Reports, including:
- Letter grades for each of the three major categories on the Progress Report in addition to the overall grade, which give parents and others in the community a clearer sense of a school’s specific strengths and weaknesses;
- Changes to peer group calculations that allow more accurate comparisons among schools that serve different numbers of special education or over-age students;
- Changes to the weights given to particular measures and categories of measures to improve evaluation of the contributions schools make to student learning.
The Progress Reports are available now on the Department of Education Web site (view a list here, or search for an individual school's report here. Progress Reports for elementary, middle, and K-8 schools were announced in September.