Overview
- The Success Academy analysis released July 7–8 identifies 906 city public schools where fewer than half of students passed state math or reading tests and says those campuses enroll about 409,379 students.
- The report highlights 503 “double-fail” schools where a majority of students failed both math and English on state exams.
- Researchers tie the problems to chronic absenteeism, reporting about 35 percent of students as chronically absent in 2023–24, and to grading and evaluation practices that the study says mask low achievement.
- Success Academy used NYSED accountability records, DOE school quality and expenditure files, and test results dating back to 2012 to argue that many underperforming schools have stayed low-performing for years while per-pupil spending rose to roughly $36,000.
- New York State and New York City education officials disputed the analysis as selective and politically motivated, and their statements defend recent gains and existing public data tools.