Highs and lows from New York City’s annual school surveys of parents, students and teachers

New York City’s annual school survey is full of highs — 99 percent of teachers think students are safe in their classes — and lows — the schools chancellor still hasn’t reached peak approval ratings from her first year on the job.

More than 1 million parents, students and teachers responded to the survey for the 2016-2017 school year, which the education department called a record high.

The surveys often paint a sunny picture of the nation’s largest school system, and the responses are used in the city’s School Quality reports. But it’s hard to make year-to-year comparisons of the data because of changes to the questions and given responses.

Almost all of the 72,400 teachers who responded to this year’s survey said students are safe in their pre-K-fifth grade classes. That was the highest positive response of any survey question.

The high marks come after Mayor Bill de Blasio declared last year the “safest school year on record.” That claim, which some of the mayor’s critics have disputed, is based largely on a decrease in the seven major crimes categorized by the NYPD.

Also earning high marks: the city’s Pre-K for All initiative, which provides free, full-day care for 4 year olds. About 98 percent of parents reported they “feel good about the way that their child’s pre-K teacher helped their child adjust to pre-K.” The city hopes to expand the popular program to 3 year olds, starting with a pilot in two school districts this upcoming school year.

Now for some low points.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s popularity among teachers is a mixed story: 55 percent of teachers said they were satisfied with the chancellor. That is up from last year, when teacher satisfaction dropped to 52 percent. However, that’s compared with 60 percent of teachers in 2015, after her first full year on the job.

The education department compared the chancellor’s performance to 2013, when a meager 27 percent of teachers approved of then-Chancellor Dennis Walcott, who was on his way out as then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg finished his third term.

As for students, only 49 percent said their peers behave well when teachers aren’t watching (kids will be kids?) and 52 percent said teachers support them when they feel upset. Only slightly more than half, 55 percent, agreed their teachers ask them hard questions most of the time.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect Carmen Fariña’s approval rating over time.