Forty-five Percent of High Schools Received “A” Grades As More Students Are on Track to Graduate on Time
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Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today released the third annual public school Progress Reports for more than 300 New York City high schools. The results reflect impressive gains by high school students in the 2008-2009 school year, with more students on track to graduate on time. In all, 45 percent of high schools received an A, while 30 percent of schools received a B. Many schools improved over last year and others maintained their strong results. Eighty-seven percent of the schools that earned an A last year earned an A again this year. Additionally, 67 percent of schools that received a D or an F last year improved to a C, and more schools scored a C and a D. Progress reports give letter grades (A through 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. Chancellor Klein was joined by Council of School Supervisors and Administrators Executive Vice President Peter McNally and Kathleen Elvin, principal of Williamsburg Preparatory School in Brooklyn, which earned one of the five highest Progress Report scores in the City.
“We continue to see more high school students making progress toward graduation and more students meeting the milestone of graduation, which is exactly what we want to see and exactly what the high school Progress Reports are intended to reward,” Chancellor Klein said. “High school Progress Reports continue to serve as a useful tool for parents and other stakeholders—especially for families of eighth graders who are deciding where to apply to high school.”
“We are pleased that we’re continuing to make educational progress as a city and we congratulate our school leaders for their unflagging efforts,” said McNally. “The criteria for the high school progress reports are very complex and were made more stringent this year. We’re proud of our school members for trying so hard to meet this new challenge.”
Progress Report Results
Of the schools that received Progress Reports today, 139 received an A (45 percent), 92 received a B (30 percent), 58 received a C (19 percent), 21 received a D (seven percent), and one received an F (less than one percent). Last year, 113 high schools received an A (40 percent), 123 received a B (43 percent), 34 received a C (12 percent), eight received a D (three percent), and six received an F (two percent). More high schools received a grade this year because more new small schools graduated their first classes in June 2009. Schools do not receive grades until they have graduated at least one class.
This year’s high school Progress Reports include these notable results:
- Eighty-seven percent of the schools that earned an A last year earned an A again this year. Of the 113 schools that earned an A last year, 98 received an A this year and 15 received a B.
- Sixty-seven percent of the schools that earned Ds and Fs last year improved enough to earn a C.
- New schools since 2002 outperformed other schools. The average score for new schools that opened since 2002 was 70.7 out of 100. The average score for all other high schools was 63.9 points out of 100.
- The five schools that scored above 100 points are all new schools: High School of Hospitality Management (105.3), Bedford Academy High School (103.3), Williamsburg Preparatory School (102.3), South Bronx Preparatory: A College Board School (101.7), and Marble Hill High School for International Studies (101.3).
The Progress Report results reflect the fact that more students are making progress toward on-time graduation. More than 7,000 additional students in their first three years of high school earned ten or more credits—more than 2,500 of whom are among the lowest performing students in the City. Students also passed 25,000 more Regents exams last year—an indicator that more students are on track to meet their Regents requirements for graduation. Students with special needs and English language learners also made important gains. Sixteen hundred more special education students and 2,900 more English language learners earned at least 11 credits, which is evidence of accelerated progress toward graduation.
Progress Report Methodology
Progress Reports give each school an overall letter grade based on three categories: school environment (15 percent of the grade), student performance (25 percent), and student progress (60 percent). “School environment” includes the results of surveys taken by almost 850,000 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 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 high schools in the City serving the most similar student populations. The remaining one-fourth of the school’s score is based on a comparison with all high schools citywide.
Schools that earned D’s and F’s could face consequences that include leadership change or closure based on a comprehensive review of Learning Environment Survey and Quality Review scores, previous Progress Report results, graduation rates, the principal’s length of service, and input from key officials. Since 2002, the DOE has closed or is in the process of closing 91 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 on this year’s Progress Reports including:
- increases to the cut scores corresponding to each letter grade (e.g., the cut score for an A went from 64.2 last year to 70 this year);
- changes to the Regents progress measures to include students who did not take the state tests in eighth grade;
- and changes to the attendance rate calculation to account for the H1N1 virus. Only the attendance of students through April is reported in the 2008-09 Progress Report.
The Progress Reports are available now on the Department of Education Web site. Progress Reports for elementary, middle, and K-8 schools were announced in September.