Overview
- Success Academy released the 35‑page report on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, saying 906 city schools had fewer than half of students proficient in state math or reading tests and that those schools enroll about 409,379 children, roughly 43 percent of the district.
- The report identified 503 “double fail” schools where a majority of students failed both math and reading and said about one‑third of the 906 have appeared on state accountability lists for a decade or longer.
- Researchers faulted chronic absenteeism, widespread test refusals, grade inflation and teacher‑evaluation rules that bar linking teacher ratings to state scores for masking true student learning, and they tied those issues to high per‑pupil spending they say is poorly allocated.
- Success Academy offered policy fixes including greater public access to test data, ending grade inflation, tying evaluations more closely to results, and expanding charter access, proposals that immediately drew an official NYSED rebuttal accusing the report of pushing a charter‑expansion agenda.
- The analysis enters a broader policy fight over school consolidation, a recent state class‑size law and a long‑standing cap on new charters while raising practical questions for families and officials about how to target resources and measure school performance over time.