Student Performance in Upstate Cities in 2022-2023: Combined Data

The academic performance of disadvantaged students has long been of concern. In district-operated schools outside New York City, only 31% of disadvantaged students passed the state’s grades 3-8 student evaluations in mathematics and English language arts in 2022-2023. Sixty-one percent of students who were not disadvantaged passed. In schools with high percentages of disadvantaged students, […]

The Poor Performance of Disadvantaged Students on New York’s English Language Exam at District-Operated and Charter Schools in Upstate Cities

The poor performance of economically disadvantaged students, particularly those in schools with high percentages of needy students, has long been a concern. In my first post, I examined the performance of disadvantaged students on the state’s grades three through eight mathematics exam at district-operated and charter schools in large upstate New York cities. In these […]

Have Charter Schools in Upstate Cities Achieved their Promise?

According to a recent article by Albany Times-Union columnist Chris Churchill, the sponsors of a new Charter school in Schenectady faced a chilly reception from area elected representatives. Churchill wrote, “Before it even opened, the new Destine Preparatory Charter School was denounced by two area politicians, Phil Steck and Angelo Santabarbara. In a joint statement issued when […]

Have Charter Schools In New York City Achieved their Promise?

Although charter schools have operated in New York State since 1998, their effectiveness continues to be disputed. A recent New York Times article, “New York City Schools Face a Crisis, Charter Schools Gain Students, points out, “As traditional public schools in the nation’s largest system endure a perilous period of student loss and funding shortfalls, […]

Can Charter Schools break the Poverty-Poor Student Performance Link?

In an earlier post, I argued that school based solutions to the problem of the poor performance of students in central city schools were not likely to succeed because they ignored the impact of the concentration of disadvantaged students on student achievement. The data showed that 79% of the variation in performance in school performance […]