Fewer schools now have single-digit proficiency rates, advocacy group notes

A report titled “The Forgotten Fourth” now needs a new name.

The number of schools where fewer than 10 percent of students are proficient in both English and math has declined since last year, according to an analysis by Families for Excellent Schools. One hundred and ninety-nine schools still fit the bill.

In a report released last month, the charter advocacy group found that 25 percent of city schools fit this description—schools it termed “The Forgotten Fourth.” The percentage has dropped to 15 percent, CEO Jeremiah Kittredge said after reviewing the 2014 state test scores released on Thursday.

According to the report, which Kittredge said will be updated Friday based on current test scores, enrollment at these schools has also dropped dramatically over the last decade. Citywide enrollment dropped by only 4 percent during that period.

Enrollment at the elementary schools highlighted in the report dropped by 31 percent, and middle school enrollment was cut in half. High schools on the list saw the most drastic enrollment drop, 62 percent, during a period in which the Bloomberg administration opened hundreds of new, small schools, cut enrollment at many others, and introduced the current system of high school choice. The administration also closed most of the formerly lowest-performing schools in the city, which may have affected struggling schools that remained open.

Read the full report below: