Across New York City’s vast school system, some schools are packed with top performers while others enroll mostly those who struggle.
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has vowed to tackle the school system’s stark inequities, and this year’s state test results — which were released Wednesday — provide a baseline against which to measure his progress.
Changes to the annual exams in math and English mean scores can’t be compared to previous years to gauge student progress. But with the test expected to remain constant for the next few years, the latest round of results set a benchmark.
Find out how well your New York City school scored on state tests.
That timing also coincides with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s most high-profile education initiative: Universal pre-K. Next year, the city’s inaugural class of pre-K students will be in third grade and sit for state exams, and de Blasio hopes the city’s investment in free early childhood education will pay dividends.
When it comes to the schools with the highest and lowest share of students scoring “proficient” on state exams this year in New York City, there are hardly any surprises on the lists that follow.
Many city schools only admit students based on their academic performance, with the most selective schools posting top test scores. Those that serve disproportionately needy students — those who are poor, have special needs, or are learning English as a new language — tend to fall to the bottom of the list. Aside from how selective a school is or its student makeup, these results could also be skewed by how many students refused to take the exams.
Top math scores
- Special Music School (100%)
- Baccalaureate School for Global Education (100%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bergen Beach (100%)
- P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence (100%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bronx 2 (99.5%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bronx 1 (99.5%)
- Success Academy Hell’s Kitchen – Manhattan 2 (99.4%)
- Success Academy Union Square – Manhattan 1 (99%)
- P.S. 77 Lower Lab School (98.9%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bensonhurst (98.9%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Williamsburg (98.7%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Cobble Hill (98.6%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bronx 4 (98.6%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Harlem 4 (98.5%)
- Success Academy Crown Heights – Brooklyn 7 (98.5%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Washington Heights (98.5%)
- South Bronx Classical Charter School III (98.5%)
- Success Academy Fort Greene – Brooklyn 5 (98.4%)
- Tag Young Scholars (98.3%)
- Success Academy Charter School – Bronx 3 (98.3%)
The district schools on this list are among the most selective in the city. Tag Young Scholars is a citywide gifted school, meaning it only accepts students with top scores on the standard gifted and talented test. But many of the highest-performing schools are charters in the Success Academy network, New York City’s largest. The network is known for its stratospheric test scores, despite enrolling mostly students from low-income families. (Critics, however, say the network pushes out students who are hardest to serve.)
Bottom math scores
- Teachers Preparatory High School (0%)
- New Directions (0%)
- P.S./I.S. 224 (2.1%)
- Academy for College Preparation and Career Exploration (3.3%)
- School of the Future Brooklyn (3.9%)
- KAPPA IV (4.2%)
- Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School (4.5%)
- Academy of Public Relations (4.8%)
- I.S. 584 (5%)
- J.H.S. 151 Lou Gehrig (5.3%)
- Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts (5.4%)
- East Fordham Academy for the Arts (5.4%)
These schools enroll mostly students who are more challenging to serve, including many who are learning English as a new language or who have special needs. KAAPA IV was closed this year by the city. I.S. 584 reopened in the place of J.H.S. Lola Rodriguez de Tio, which the city closed under threat of state takeover. Fannie Lou Hamer is in the city’s Renewal program, which infuses schools with extra resources in an effort to turn them around.
Top English scores
- P.S. 77 Lower Lab School (100%)
- Baccalaureate School for Global Education (98.9%)
- Special Music School (98.7%)
- The 30th Avenue School (G&T Citywide) (98.1%)
- New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (97.5%)
- The Anderson School (97.4%)
- The Academy for Excellence through the Arts (97.1%)
- Success Academy Hell’s Kitchen – Manhattan 2 (96.6%)
- Tag Young Scholars (96.3%)
- East Side Middle School (95.7%)
Just like the top math schools, most on this list screen students based on their academic performance. The Anderson School and The 30th Avenue School enroll students with the highest scores on gifted and talented tests. P.S. 77 exclusively serves gifted students as well. Success Academy admits students through a lottery, but the Hell’s Kitchen school serves a smaller percentage of students who are learning English as a new language or are economically needy than the city average, according to city figures.
Bottom English scores
- Academy for New Americans (0%)
- New Directions Secondary School (5.6%)
- Harbor Heights (6.5%)
- P.S. 150 Christopher (9.3%)
- Teachers Preparatory High School (9.3%)
- Community Math & Science Prep (10.4%)
- School of the Future Brooklyn (11%)
- The Hunts Point School (11.1%)
- I.S. 206 Ann Mersereau (11.2%)
- P.S. 111 Jacob Blackwell (12.1%)
Once again, these schools serve mostly needy students. Academy for New Americans caters to recently arrived immigrants who are learning English as a new language. Harbor Heights also enrolls many newcomers, including students who had limited or interrupted formal education in their home countries. New Directions serves students who have fallen behind in middle or high school. P.S. 111 and The Hunts Point School are in the city’s Renewal program.